Traditional litigation in court is in serious dis-array in almost every jurisdiction. It has become almost inaccessible for all but large corporations or wealthy individuals as fees for solicitors and barristers are prohibitive for ordinary individuals, SME’s and even cost conscious larger corporations.
Procedures remain archaic and time-consuming despite numerous reforms and attempts to streamline court procedures. Time based fee structures simply encourage lawyers to use court hearings and appearances for increasing fees, slowing down the process, and using the costs of the process as a strategy to pressure the other side.
Private arbitration has been promoted as a means to bring about faster and cheaper resolution of disputes but this potential has not always been realized as most jurisdictions have allowed legal procedures to be imported into or adapted into the arbitration process, thereby increasing costs and requiring more time and delay. Fees of the Arbitration Tribunals and centres where they are located are an additional expense on top of the cost of the party’s engaging lawyers or barristers who specialize in arbitration to represent them before the various tribunals.
Mediation is increasingly important. It is much faster than the adversarial court approach and is particularly recommended for areas of law where compromise is preferable to litigation, as in family matters, such as divorce, separation and custody disputes or estate disputes; complex areas of law where expert knowledge is required such as medical negligence cases or complex commercial disputes among businesses where the litigation process gets bogged down in minutiae of adversarial tactics and courts lack the necessary expertise. Mediation is now a recognized feature of the litigation process and mandatory in some jurisdictions, while mediation settlements may even be enforced like arbitration awards.
Should businesses and individuals abandon the courts and choose instead mediation or arbitration and insist on more flexible and efficient procedures? As a law firm we are always looking for ways to protect the client from, and circumvent wherever possible, the costs, delays and frustrations of the litigation process.
What further changes can be expected in the court system? Is legal aid effective or a practical possibility?
Areas of Practice:
Litigation:
Small Claims to District Courts, High Courts and Appellate Courts.
Special tribunals such as Immigration, Employment and Inland Revenue, Competition, and Securities and Monetary Authorities, Customs and Excise and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Family Law Courts and mediation counsellors.
Arbitration and Mediation:
Negotiation and settlement through various out-of-court mechanisms and strategies to avoid litigation altogether thereby enabling client’s resources to be put towards more productive uses
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