Reflect on the traditional litigation system; for example, suit, answer, discovery, trial, or jury. What are risks organizations encounter when dealing with traditional litigation? What measures may managers take to reduce exposure to those risks?
The traditional litigation system is set up as a hard coded process with a variety of procedural rules. A lawsuit, also known as litigation, is divided into pleadings, discovery, dismissals and pretrial judgements, settlement conference, trial, and appeal. Each step has it's own procedures that must be followed, and the pleadings stage may invoke a counter lawsuit. The longer the process takes, the more money must be given to lawyers and the court system which could have been used in the business constructively. While some lawsuits are worth the effort and investment, many times it would be favorable to utilize an alternative to the traditional litigation process. Alternative dispute resolution methods are being used to reduce business interruption, notoriety, and astronomical costs associated with the traditional litigation system. ADRs are comprised of negotiation, mediation, conciliation, mini-trial, fact-finding, and using a judicial referee (Cheeseman, 2010, p. 43).
Of course, taking the necessary precautions not to get involved into a legal dispute along with following all applicable laws will also be useful in avoiding the costs associated with litigation. If a legal dispute must be resolved, managers should strongly consider ADRs before proceeding with the traditional litigation process.
References:
Cheeseman, Henry. Business Law: Legal Environment, Online Commerce, Business Ethics, and International Issues.
Seventh Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
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