What Is Alternative Dispute Resolution?

Alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, is an alternative to a traditional court case. It usually arises as a result of an agreement between the parties either in a contract or once a dispute occurs. Examples of ADR are arbitration which can be either binding or non-binding arbitration, mediation, or simply negotiation by the parties.

ADR is typically thought of to be less expensive and less time consuming than a traditional court case, but you may not have the same procedural safe guards you would have in a traditional lawsuit.