Overall, litigants like mediation, trials before judges and negotiations that include participants along with their attorneys more than all other forms of alternative dispute resolution, the study by Donna Shestowsky shows.
The findings could help courts struggling to deliver civil justice in the face of budget cuts decide what kind of alternative dispute resolutions programs to offer.
“The clear overall preference that litigants expressed for mediation over nonbinding arbitration has important implications for courts that want to draw litigants into their voluntary ADR programs, especially if they offer only one ADR procedure,” Shestowsky said in a news release.