Australian Drilling Attachments

The benefits of alternative dispute resolution

David Jones
Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers
 
The benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution such as mediation are many, however until now they have unfortunately not been readily accessible to clients based in Newcastle or the Hunter.
Alternative Dispute Resolution refers to a wide range of services that provide a non-litigation based approach to resolving legal disputes.
Mediation is one of the best known methods of alternative dispute resolution and brings parties together in a noncombative environment.
Unfortunately like nearly all ADR services, mediation has usually only been available in Sydney, requiring local Newcastle and Hunter based clients to travel to Sydney.
Given the many benefits of mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, this has been far from ideal.
 
Now Carroll and O’Dea Lawyers Newcastle is not only providing the benefits of alternative dispute resolution directly to Newcastle and hunter clients, but are also bringing to the area some of the best practitioners in the field including former Federal Attorney General, Robert McClelland.
Robert McClelland is an expert in alternative dispute resolution and a recognised Mediator who can now bring these specialised skills to Newcastle and Hunter clients to assist in resolving disputes.
So what benefits can clients expect of alternative dispute resolution practices?
Cost savings are one of the key benefits of alternative dispute resolution and these are further enhanced by the provision of services locally in the Hunter, negating the need and expense of travel.
Other benefits include the opportunity to bring to bear on long running disputes, a fresh perspective and a creative approach to resolving issues and breaking stalemates when other resolution has failed.
Mediation can also offer opposing parties the opportunity to articulate their positions without prejudicing their case. This can often reveal underlying issues that may be preventing resolution of matters. Mediation enables these issues to be aired and addressed, reopening the pathway to resolution of the dispute.
 
So where is ADR best suited as an approach? The answer is many including:
· Commercial disputes
· Building disputes
· Any civil claim
· Personal injury matters
· Orders in relation to wstates
· Contested will
Alternative dispute resolution is also widely applicable to areas of non-litigation such as workplace disputes, employee grievance or workplace investigation matters.
 
For further information contact David Jones on (02) 4032 1700, email david_jones@codea.com.au or visit www.codea.com.au
David Jones bio David Jones
Is a NSW Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law and has extensive experience in dispute resolution across various jurisdictions. David joined Carroll & O’Dea in 2010 and is currently the Partner responsible for the Newcastle office of Carroll & O’Dea. Prior to Carroll & O’Dea, David had been a partner in a Newcastle firm for 17 years.

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