Overview
In a legal environment where efficiency and cost-effectiveness are paramount, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) offers clients smarter, faster, and more collaborative pathways to resolution.
This session will
- Examine the range of ADR mechanisms available to parties, including mediation, arbitration, negotiation and early neutral evaluation.
- Analyse the key lessons from the Appiah case, focusing on how courts view parties’ engagement, or refusal to engage with ADR.
- Highlight the cost implications of not pursuing ADR, including potential adverse cost orders and reputational impact.
- Demonstrate how early use of ADR can help manage risk, preserve commercial and personal relationships, and deliver faster, more cost-effective outcomes.
- Provide practical guidance for practitioners advising clients on ADR strategy and compliance with court expectations.
Why it matters
Failing to engage with ADR is no longer a neutral choice, it can carry significant financial and procedural consequences. Equip yourself and your clients with the knowledge to make informed, strategic decisions that protect interests and control costs.
Andrew’s mediation experience covers a wide range of topics including disputes on the following:
- Medical issues
- Mental Capacity Issues
- Commercial/agency
- Contested probate
As Chairman and current committee member of the Association of South West Mediators (ASWM), Andrew demonstrates his commitment to mediation as a valuable method of dispute resolution for the whole community.
Mediations in which Andrew has been involved include several highly emotional still birth claims and a very large 2-day Group Action in which Andrew was the lead solicitor for a group of 176 vulnerable adults who had been subject to a wide range of abuse. The mediation identified a template that allowed a structured approach to the settlement of the cases which approach was acknowledged by the court in the approval hearing as novel and one that saved considerable cost and time... view full biography
Tim Wallis is a solicitor (1978), a mediator (2004) and Chair of Trust Mediation (TM) (2013) a provider of specialist mediators for personal injury and clinical negligence claims. Tim led TM’s tender bid to conduct pi and clin neg mediations under the NHS Resolution mediation scheme. He contributes the ADR sections for “The White Book” and “APIL Personal Injury Law, Practice and Precedents” and he commissioned the publication of “The Jackson ADR Handbook” on behalf of the Civil Justice Council. Special interests: un-settleable claims, multi-party claims and online dispute resolution. TM settlement rates: approx. 85%+ pi and 75%+ clin neg. ... view full biography