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Nontraditional Litigation

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Nontraditional and Traditional Litigation Paper

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One of the ways that citizens and businesses alike resolve conflict is through civil litigation. It involves legal processes and the court in order to resolve disputes between two parties, who are seeking equitable and legal remedy. The process is quite structured and the plaintiff, who claims to have suffered a loss as a result of the actions of the defendant, must provide an argument that is based on facts or findings. The defendant must be prepared to give an answer or response to the plaintiff’s complaint. It can be divided into seven stages to included investigation, pleadings, discovery, pre-trial, trial, settlement and appeal. Both parties are represented by attorneys and the case is decided by a judge or jury, and if each party feels the court’s decision is in error, then one can appeal the decision, to be tried in a higher court of law.

Although most trials are settled outside of courts and not all trials go through every stage, litigation can become expensive and complicated with increased party involvement. Because lawsuits can take several months to years before it even goals to trial, alternate dispute resolution (ADR) methods are other ways of remedying conflict, and could save companies money. Both are effective, however, choosing the best method to resolve a conflict should depend on the nature of the conflict. Some of the things that can affect companies and should be considered in deciding whether to litigate or use an alternate dispute resolution are: 1) knowing a particular state’s ADR laws, local court rules and the company’s contractual agreement 2) fee and expenses of the trial, attorney fees and additional requirements for discovery and pre-trial motions in civil litigations 3) whether or not the company can appeal versus ADR, which cannot and 4) what is the

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