The Escalate Guide to Dispute Resolution

This guide is for you if… you want to find out more about how your case can be settled without reaching court. 

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

ADR covers a range of techniques that can help parties to resolve their disputes without resorting to court proceedings. These include negotiation, mediation, expert opinion and adjudication.

Escalate has successfully employed Alternative Dispute Resolution in numerous cases, enabling us to recover money for our clients quickly and pragmatically.

Part 36 Offers

Part 36 offers can be made by either a claimant or a defendant at any stage during a dispute or appeal proceedings, and is a strategic move to encourage parties to settle the dispute before it reaches a courtroom.

A Part 36 offer to settle can avoid the time and hassle associated with court proceedings, and is commonly used tactic by Escalate as part of the dispute process.

This guide is for you if… you wish to make a Part 36 offer to settle a dispute/or you’ve been offered a Part 36 offer as part of a dispute.

This guide is for you if… you want to find out more about what documents you need to disclose in your court case, and how extensively to search for them. 

Duty of standard disclosure

During court proceedings, both the claimant and defendant sign a ‘disclosure statement’ regarding relevant documents that are being disclosed. 

Disclosure is only concerned with documents – but a ‘document’ is anything in which information is recorded, including ‘electronic documents.’

Guidance on pre-action conduct

Pre-action protocols refers to the conduct that is expected of parties prior to the issue of proceedings. These are intended to encourage early settlement of a case, to help ensure that litigation is only commenced as a last resort.

For example, both parties should be prepared to resolve the dispute by Alternative Dispute Resolution. The other specific, newly introduced measures are highlighted in this guide.

This guide is for you if… you’re at the start of a potential litigation procedure, and want to know more about pre-action conduct.

This guide is for you if… you’re involved in a dispute that involves any sort of electronic communications as evidence.

E-disclosure and the revised Civil Procedure Rules

E-disclosure (otherwise known as Electronic Disclosure) is the disclosure of electronic documents in a litigation process, which forms evidence in a case.

The huge growth in electronic communications has forced the legal profession to reconsider its approach to disclosure, and take into account the multiple forms of documents now widely available.