Yesterday evening (21 January), Sam Townend KC delivered an address calling for the expansion of the range of dispute resolution options beyond the Courts for parties to civil disputes.
Sam explored how ADR has evolved across his career, highlighting that although strong support has been given by both the Government and the Judiciary over the years, further steps need to be taken to widen the available non-court dispute resolution options, with so many litigants still waiting too long and paying too much for effective resolution and the civil justice system unlikely to receive the level of funding needed for transformative change.
Sam emphasised that now is the time to broaden our approach and encourage education, training and ultimately greater use of evaluative ADR processes to complement the enormous success of facilitative mediation, and presented practical ways that progress can be made.
