Does the use of ADR mean less money for lawyers?

Clearly a genuine fear exists on the part of lawyers that the use of ADR is a threat to their litigation practices. The desire of the clients to reduce costs will reduce their expenditures on litigation in any event. Lawyers are demonstrating a recognition of this reality by undertaking training in ADR and establishing ADR sections within their firms. The reality also is that disputes will continue to exist and those law firms that are responsive to the needs of clients and which contribute to the early resolution of disputes and cost savings, are most likely to be engaged in the handling of more of the work flowing from satisfied clients. Confirmation of this analysis is obtained in the CPR “1995 Law Firm Practices in ADR” survey of 124 law firms. The response rate was 51%, and it revealed an extensive array of ADR activity. The findings of the survey indicate that among firms that had formally organized their ADR activity, 37% reported gaining new clients or gaining new business from existing clients as a result of ADR expertise. Only 2% of those firms who did not report formal organization of ADR efforts reported such gains.