How should a dispute be resolved? This is a complex question, which used to have a simple answer – by negotiation and, if this fails, straight to court. Nowadays, it is not so simple.
Firstly, how may an effective negotiation be conducted? Strangely, lawyers and business graduates are not routinely taught negotiation skills. Yet, there are good and bad negotiation techniques. It is well understood that the use of certain techniques can lead to a fruitful negotiation where in the absence of those techniques, the outcome is likely to be less favourable. There is a vast volume of literature in this area, especially in the US, where the Harvard Programme on Negotiation is based. It is not only in commerce that good negotiation skills are needed; they are useful in the workplace too, whether dealing with colleagues, suppliers or even management. Workplace disputes that can be resolved early can solve a lot of time, effort and distress. Indeed, the same can be said (to a greater or lesser extent) of all disputes.
Where negotiation does not work, the ‘straight to court’ model is no longer viable. Lawyers have a duty to inform clients of all alternatives, as provided for in recent Law Society of Scotland guidance and these include mediation and (especially in commercial contracts) arbitration. These methods have their place, and, when chosen well, can bring critical benefits to any dispute process, such as: speed, less cost, privacy and can (especially with mediation) even allow parties to repair an ongoing relationship (family, employment, or even commercial). This latter dynamic is simply absent from most court processes. Further, recent research on resolving family law disputes suggests that a hybrid model (whereby lawyers can act both as lawyer and mediator) can work. Indeed, the perception of mediation as only for disputes involving relationships is now in the past, with regular increases in the use of mediation of commercial disputes: The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) estimates that it was involved in 9,500 commercial mediations in 2014, 9% growth on the previous year.
Disputes can happen in any environment, and they are a fact of life. They are, in one sense, a waste of time. They are not productive or enjoyable. No-one has disputes recreationally. It is not a hobby. Making the process as streamlined, quick, painless and cheap as possible should therefore be a key priority of any dispute adviser, transactions adviser or line manager.
Learning about the different forms of resolution and the techniques involved, whether with a view to advising on disputes or to resolve them more effectively, is important. The Law School here is very active in this area; it already offers courses and programmes on dispute resolution, at undergraduate and Masters levels, including a Masters programme which is professionally accredited by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
The plan is to specialise further in this area by launching a new Masters online part-time programme: LLM Dispute Resolution. If you are interested in being kept informed of developments on this new, exciting addition, please register your interest here. At the moment, we are collecting evidence of demand, so the higher the level of interest, the more likely this programme will launch.
The more education offered in this area, the more harmonious our relations with others will be. How can you argue with that?
