LITIGATION CENTER

Business Litigation Center
Lawyer in Fayetteville, AR

Serving Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, Fort Smith, Joplin, Tulsa, & Springfield

Today there are cost effective alternatives to filing a lawsuit and proceeding to court, which may take a long period of time and cause your business to incur large fees in the process. Many disputes are settled without ever filing suit in a traditional court. In many situations, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), discussed below, is perfectly suitable and less expensive than litigation in a court of law.

If you are considering filing a lawsuit or are faced with defending one, you should seek out a skilled trial lawyer who can explain these options to you and vigorously represent you in your litigation.
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Litigation Procedure

The civil litigation process is complex and requires extensive work, even if the case settles before going to trial. The process is governed by numerous federal or state rules, depending on the forum, and involves a number of steps, including:
  • Filing a complaint and answer and any subsequent amendments.
  • Filing and arguing various pretrial motions.
  • Conducting discovery, including depositions, interrogatories, and requests for production.
  • Attending the pretrial conference to determine the trial schedule and to address any last pretrial motions.
  • Trial and judgment.
  • Appeals, if a party believes that some part of the judgment was wrong.
  • Proceedings to enforce a judgment, if necessary.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Alternative dispute resolution is the name for various means of settling disputes, including arbitration and mediation, without undergoing traditional litigation. Arbitration is similar to a trial in that the parties present their respective arguments to a neutral arbitrator who makes a decision, presumably predicting how a court would decide. Arbitration is typically quicker, less formal, and less costly than traditional litigation, but parties do not enjoy all of the procedural protections that they would have in a court of law. Mediation consists of an unbiased, trained mediator hearing the parties’ arguments and attempting to offer a mutually acceptable compromise. Mediators often succeed by facilitating calm, reasoned discussion between the parties and offering them an unbiased view of the merits of each side’s case. Both forms of ADR are very popular for resolving business disputes and many firms of experienced former judges and lawyers are providing professional ADR services in Northwest Arkansas such as ADR Inc.
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