Models of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) A report for the Legal Ombudsman

Executive summary The aim of this research was to investigate what the Legal Ombudsman can learn from other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers. The research was commissioned by the Legal Ombudsman to help it review and develop its dispute resolution model and ensure it remains fit-for-purpose. The research involved a case study design and fieldwork was conducted with ten organisations: four in the UK, one in Ireland, two in New Zealand, one in Australia, one in Canada and one in the USA. The research highlighted a range of dispute resolution practices and illustrated some of the key design choices that ADR providers need to make when designing or reviewing a dispute resolution scheme. These fell within four areas: the use of online dispute resolution; the early stages of dispute resolution processes; mediation approaches; and the later stages of dispute resolution and building influence. There is significant potential for ombudsman schemes to develop in this area. The case study of eBay shows how disputes between buyers and sellers can be resolved by a semi-automated system which is able to resolve the vast majority of cases by providing options for settlement and encouraging parties to reach a view for themselves. One of the benefits of ODR platforms, such as that used by eBay, may be their accessibility and transparency, as well as being able to provide trusted information which enables parties to reach their own conclusions. A fascinating area of future development involves " crowdsourcing " decisions, where a panel of experienced buyers and sellers determine the outcome of a case. The early stages of dispute resolution While there was a reasonable amount of commonality between the case studies in terms of the fundamental activities they undertook at the early stages of their dispute resolution processes, a range of practices were identified. The Ontario Ombudsman follows an " issue based " approach, which demonstrates the value of ensuring that, however a process is designed, case workers are given sufficient freedom to bring about flexible and creative solutions to problems. The New Zealand Banking Ombudsman's approach incentivises resolution during their facilitation stage and provides an interesting example of the way in which a fee system can encourage resolution at the earliest stages of the ADR body's processes. The Furniture Ombudsman provides a good insight into a scheme that operates two distinct processes (called conciliation and adjudication), but where the caseworker rather than the …