The Legal System and Adr Analysis Case

The Legal System and ADR Analysis

LAW/531

Karen M. McCarthy

May 19, 2015

Tara Barnes

Memorandum

TO:                Tara Barnes, Facilitator

FROM:        Karen M. McCarthy

DATE:         May 19, 2015, 2015

SUBJECT: The Legal System and ADR Analysis

When the options available in settling business disputes are considered, the parties involved benefit from resolving the dispute in the best way possible. The court system is able to settle most problems concerning state-level differences. The matter could be taken all the way to the state’s Supreme Court, depending on the harshness of the disagreement. However, a simpler way would be to us “Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)” methods, or by staying within the common dominion state court system. “The use of the court system to resolve business and other disputes can take years and cost thousands, or even millions, of dollars in legal fees and expenses” (Cheeseman, 2013, p. 52).  

The Legal Process

There are multiple stages of the legal procedure that disputes go through before reaching a settlement. Filing a claim is the first step of the legal process. This step is where the party or parties’ wronged file a claim against the person he or she believes wronged him or her. The City of Elsa versus Gonzalez is a Texas case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The plaintiff sued the city for unlawful termination from his city manager position. Mr. Gonzalez claimed that his termination violated the “Texas Whistleblower Act” (Find Law for Legal Professional, 2010).  In this case, the city responded to the grievance and appealed the claim’s legitimacy by presenting satisfactory proof supporting the counter-claim. This type of case has the potential of being dismissed if Mr. Gonzalez was unable to support his accusations.

Recommended ADR Method

ADR’s are methods of “non-judicial dispute resolutions.” These are typically utilized to permit disputes to be settled separate from the court systems. Mediation, arbitration, mini-trial, judicial referee, fact-finding, and negotiation are forms of ADR (Cheeseman, 2013). These forms of alternative dispute resolution can be practical to various business disagreements, in which a few forms are better suited to a case than others. This paper will evaluate the legal process, recommend an ADR method, and discuss cost benefits between following ADR and traditional proceedings concerning the case of the “City of Elsa versus Gonzales.”