Are you facing bankruptcy issues? Do you think your civil rights may have been violated? Maybe you are faced with personal injury litigation. Legal woes can be difficult, but it is a necessary part of the civilization we live in.
When you experience legal issues, sometimes it can feel like a catastrophe. Obtaining a lawyer and going through the proper legal channels is stressful, time-consuming, and expensive. Not to mention having to deal with the sometime traumatic circumstances that led you to court to begin with at the same time. However, legal processes come in all shapes and sizes. Finding the best legal channel to settle your issue gives you the best chances of a favorable outcome, and surviving the process.
- Going Through an Arbitrator
The arbitration process is a good way to handle civil disputes without going through the headache that is our court process. To do this, you and the opposing party would agree on an arbitration service to present your case to. After your arbitrator has reviewed the facts of the dispute and heard testimony from involved parties, they will make a fair decision on the settlement.The benefits of using an arbitration service instead of going through the court process include:
- The arbitration process often involves fewer legal fees.
- It takes a fraction of the time to reach a settlement.
- Arbitration follows a more practical and straight forward process than all the red tape involved in the court system.
The drawback to using an arbitration service is there is no appeals process if you feel like the arbitrator’s final decision was unfair. For this reason, it is critical to carefully select the arbitrator based on their track record and experience before you begin.
- Using Supervision of Claims Administrators
If your legal claim requires significant coordination in order to be successful, utilizing supervision of claims administrators is a good idea. The most common cases supervision of claims administrators are used for is class-action lawsuits, where there are hundreds (or thousands) of people involved and an equal number of moving pieces that need to be put in place. Supervision of claims administrators create a blueprint for how to handle the legal process, and serve as a project manager for it.For class actions, the supervision of claims administrators would gather as many participants as they can to create a substantial claim for that class action. They then collect and manage the claims forms that are returned from potential claimants. Based on the response they get from potential claimants, they then help the class action lawyers develop a strategy. When a decision has been reached, the claims administrator facilitates distributing the settlement. Having a claims administrator on your team is critical when your case is too big to organize on your own.
- Hiring an Alternative Dispute Resolution Mediator
Going through court can be ugly. Many times, aggressive lawyers look for any way to knock the opposing party down in order to create a better case for their client. But what if it didn’t have to be painful? This is where using a mediation service is beneficial.
When your case is not a criminal issue, and when you just want to come to an agreement with as little blood spilling as possible, or you want to maintain control of the outcome rather than leaving it in the hands of a judge or arbitrator, going through a mediator is a good plan. A mediator is a neutral third party who will review the facts of the dispute, and then conduct private interviews with both sides, and help the parties involved negotiate a settlement that everyone agrees on. In most cases, mediation agreements hold the authority to be upheld in court if one of the agreeing parties violates the terms.Using a mediator is especially beneficial in divorce proceedings, child custody cases, and disagreements between neighbors or business partners, where the parties will need to maintain a working relationship going forward.
Have you ever settled a legal matter using legal experts beyond just your lawyers and a judge? What was the outcome, and are you glad you followed the alternative process? Please share your experience in the comment section below.