As a trial judge, I became increasingly aware that resolving civil disputes through litigation had significant drawbacks: It took 12 to 18 months to get even simple cases to trial, and complex cases took much longer. All cases had to be conducted via the same procedures, thus leaving little opportunity for customizing the process. And losing parties routinely appealed the judgment, adding two to four years to the time to disposition, and even more if the case was remanded for retrial. It seemed to me there must be a better way, and after reading a good deal about ADR, I realized that there was.

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