What Are the Advantages of Arbitration? Part 1

There are several advantages of arbitration over traditional litigation when dealing with matters of divorce. They include:

1. Efficient
   There are numerous steps that must be taken prior to scheduling a court trial and, therefore, Court of King’s Bench trials are typically scheduled well over a year following legal counsel being retained. Arbitration is a more streamlined process that can be scheduled quickly, thereby allowing parties to resolve their dispute in a timely manner, often within a matter of days or weeks.
2. Affordable
   Since an arbitration provides a more streamlined process than a court trial and since lawyers are paid by the hour, arbitration can be far less expensive than a litigated resolution.  Also, arbitration is far more conducive to parties acting on their own behalf without lawyers, which can make it exceedingly less expensive than a court trial.
3. Experience 
   The arbitrator who decides your matter is an experienced legal professional with additional specialized training in arbitration. Having exclusively practiced in family and divorce law for many years, the arbitrators at Jones Divorce & Family Law have an in-depth understanding of the intricacies and nuances of the legal principles that face separating and divorcing parties. Thoroughly considered, well analyzed, and comprehensive arbitration decisions will allow parties to conclude their dispute and move on with their lives with confidence that their matter was given proper legal consideration. In contrast, arbitrators who are not lawyers and have not practiced law in the area of family law have a more superficial comprehension of the issues which can result in inaccurate applications of the law and incorrect arbitration awards. Further, Justices have a wide range of backgrounds and parties may or may not appear before a Justice who has any experience practicing family and divorce law prior to joining the judiciary.
4. Consistency
   In arbitration, parties use the same professional through the entire process. As a result, the arbitrator becomes familiar with the parties, their family circumstances, the details of their property, personal dynamics, specific challenges, etc.. During traditional litigation, parties generally attend court multiple times and before a variety of Justices, each of whom have varying perspectives and approaches. Many interim applications involve Justices making decisions based on an incomplete knowledge and understanding of the family circumstances due to the limited time litigants are permitted to present their case. The result is that court decisions may lack consistency. While an arbitration may also involve interim applications, parties always attend with the same professional arbitrator to afford the parties the consistency of a decision-maker with an intimate understanding of their case and particular circumstances.

You can read Part 2 of this article here to learn more about the advantages of arbitration.

Disclaimer: The content provided in the blog posts of Jones Divorce & Family Law is general information and should not be considered legal advice. Please contact a lawyer for legal advice tailored to your specific situation. All articles are current as of their original publication date.