ADR or Alternative
Dispute Resolution is the method of which parties choose to address legal
issues by methods other than litigation which is settling in court. These
methods include negation, mediation, and arbitration. The benefits of settling
legal issues this way is the fact that that by keeping information out of the
courts you can have better privacy. Disputes can also be settled in a timelier manner
in order to waste less time; however the 2012/13 NHL hockey lockout proved that
it still isn't that easy even having a mediator. My goal for this class is to
finish with a good idea of law and how it can help me negotiating terms and
contracts in the future. Knowing ADR will be a key component in this. On a more
personal level, I've always struggled with standing up for my own opinion or
freewill by saying ‘no’ or negotiating better terms in a voluntary position. I have often become overwhelmed with tasks or
bad deals because I've found it easier to accept then to ask for better terms. With
this class I plan to change those bad habits!
Learning about law
so far has sparked a new found interest in knowing more about how the system
works. The fact that no one person is above the law and that we are all treated
equally under it is a good feeling, but the most interesting piece of it all is
how law adapts and evolves over time to keep up with the ever changing world we
live in. In terms of ADR I’m a firm believer of keeping things hidden from view.
If we don’t need to make a big deal out of it or draw a lot of attention, than
perfect. Better to pretend almost nothing ever happened. I've been in a few
situations where that ends up being the outcome because of the greater good it
will bring to the parties involved. The mediators end up being our closest
friends trying to act as a middle man. Even though there are sides which he was
on in this case, it was still better than going to the principal’s office and
discussing it.
My action plan is
to read the book “Getting to YES” over these few months and learn the skills
Roger Fisher and William Ury teach in it. Hopefully I’ll be successful however
negotiation is a hard thing to quantify!
