Filing litigation is not as relieving as it may seem. Indeed, you are fighting for your rights by bringing your dispute to the court, but don’t you know that the average pendency of cases is six months? Besides, you can’t set a fixed cost on a lawsuit. Multiple investigations and hearings often follow, and the parties involved in the dispute are the ones who pay them. And that is why you must know what options you have instead of litigation.
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dispute resolution attempt between two parties without any interference from the third one on the result. But you are still allowed to consult a lawyer about the possible outcomes or negotiation strategies. And you can also hire a lawyer to represent you. The rules in negotiation are up to the involved parties, but they must be adhered to voluntarily.
Negotiation is considered as an informal dispute resolution. Therefore, it does not need a third party to keep records of the process. And this is the reason why many companies prefer to negotiate with disgruntling customers. Everything is done discreetly and fast.
Mediation
Mediation may or may not involve a lawyer. But instead of representing either of the parties, they function as a mediator. A mediator’s job is to frame the mediated terms between two parties with the right words and context. And this is the reason why in some cases, the mediator is not an attorney, but an expert in the related field. For instance, a business consultant can take the mediator role in employment disputes. And a public relations expert can mediate the case of a corporate-community relation.
The best benefit of mediation is its relatively quick process compared to arbitration and litigation. It also keeps the issue confidential unless both parties agree to go public.
Arbitration
Unlike the previous two methods, the parties in dispute do not have power over the decision in arbitration. It requires a third party, called the arbitrator, to decide the fairest settlement in the case. And only an attorney with expertise in the related field is eligible to fill that position. It is like a small court, but with a faster process and more privacy. You still get to decide where the arbitration takes place and whether the result can go to a third party or not.
However, it is scarce to propose arbitration in the first sign of dispute. You’d better go through negotiation and mediation first because arbitration will certainly take more time and cost you more money.