Mediation/Arbitration

The firm also has broad and important experience in the emerging field of alternative dispute resolution. As the cost of litigation has continued to rise sharply, many clients and others have turned to less formal, and less costly, methods of resolving claims, principally mediation or arbitration. Whereas in arbitration, the parties can agree, either by contractual obligation, or by agreement in regard to a specific dispute, to submit their claims to an arbitrator, or panel of arbitrators, for a binding decision, in mediation, they agree only to seek the assistance of a neutral third party to assist them in coming to their own agreement to resolve the matter. The members of the firm have substantial experience in both roles, and two members also are authorized arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association. Other members have undertaken training provided under the auspices of the NH Superior Court and frequently serve as volunteer mediators, or sometimes as arbitrators, for the Court. The members of the firm also frequently act as either arbitrators or mediators on a private basis at the request of members of the NH Bar.