Lessons from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Movement

In less than a decade, alternative dispute resolution-ADR-has grown from a bravely-voiced hope to a congeries of practices animated by the desire to resolve legal battles outside the courtroom. 1ADR offers a way-station, or a series of them, between the probity of the adversary system and the flexibility of private negotiations. 2 Though not without an ideology, ADR has never had a unified theory to explain what it accomplishes and how it works.But enough experience has accumulated by now to permit a search for a more analytical understanding of ADR and the lessons it might teach. I. WHAT IS ADR?The ADR roster includes such well-known processes as arbitration, mediation, conciliation, and, perhaps, negotiation.These processes can be used to settle existing disputes or to prevent disputes from developing. 3 There are also new hybrid devices that borrow from courtroom procedure-including, most prominently, the mini-trial. 4 The roster may also be expanded to include the tVisiting Associate Professor, New York Law School.ttPresident, Center for