The decisions you will face when a dispute arises may be the most difficult but important decisions you will make for your business. Although the options at every decision point should be analyzed in a rational manner, it is almost impossible to remain completely rational. And it is difficult to quantify the frustration factor.

Having said this, in addition to our constant dispute avoidance counseling with our clients, our goal is to assist you in making the best possible decisions at the outset and throughout the dispute resolution process. Our dispute resolution legal services and strategies include the following:

• Pre-litigation dispute analysis. We will review all of the facts available to you at the outset of a dispute and develop a comprehensive dispute analysis. This report will expose the major strengths and weaknesses of your position, the various dispute resolution options, cost estimates, unquantifiable concerns and other recommendations. Many clients have found this extremely useful in making an informed business decision and find themselves not second-guessing that decision down the road. In addition, this detailed analysis is vital in the regulated business world to protect against fraud allegations.
• Case management assistance. If you choose to take formal legal action, we will assist you in retaining the best law firm with the appropriate specialty litigation expertise. While our primary goal is to assist you in making good decisions as the case proceeds by overseeing litigation counsel, we will also develop a cost-containment strategy, recommend and monitor the non-legal professionals, provide periodic progress reports, monitor the performance of the retained law firm, manage the project and provide other related assistance.
• Alternative dispute resolution strategies. The arbitration and mediation dispute resolution forums are different in many ways from traditional litigation. There are many things that an arbitrator may not have the authority to decide or control. In other words, there are unique opportunities at various stages of the process to generate advantages for your position. If the dispute is approached from the traditional litigation point of view, you will undoubtedly miss out on these opportunities. There are also opportunities for advantage in the mediation forum.
• Arbitration and arbitrator services. If you intend to settle your business dispute in arbitration, it is important to hire an attorney who understands the arbitration forum, general business practices, the applicable laws and regulations in your industry and the parties’ desire to resolve the dispute efficiently and economically. The same goes for choosing an arbitrator. On the other hand, you could hire a litigator or retired judge who will undoubtedly apply the same approach to arbitration as he/she does to litigation. As you know, arbitration was designed to be a more efficient process with less formality leading to a faster economic resolution. Unfortunately, as hourly-rate litigation lawyers and judges have taken over, it is now almost as contentious, time-consuming and inefficient as the court system.
• Mediation services. More and more business thinkers are avoiding the costly litigation and arbitration forums and taking their disputes to a mediator to facilitate a resolution. In fact, due to the tremendous legal fees associated with litigation and arbitration, the mediation forum will probably become the only forum that makes business sense if the amount in controversy is under $100,000. The mediation forum has a number of advantages, including financial economy, speedy resolution and other significant efficiencies. It is a non-binding process, so you have very little to lose. If you have a dispute headed for mediation, we would encourage you hire an attorney who understands the goals and limitations of mediation.
• Mediator services. If you need a mediator, we would encourage you to hire an attorney: (1) who fully understands the business subject matter, (2) who possesses non-litigation problem solving skills and (3) who is experienced in the mediation forum. Our mediation services range from provision of the mediator to any of the assistance services described above.
• Collaborative and cooperative solutions. Sometimes, even attempting to resolve a dispute in arbitration will be too costly, too contentious or simply take too long. In those situations where mediation does not pencil out, you may want to consider using an attorney to participate in a less formal “collaborative” or “cooperative” process. This has been quite successful in the family law arena and is expanding into other forums, such as contract disputes. We are pleased to serve in this capacity.
• Expert witness services. With our depth of experience in healthcare, general business, business finance, managed care, hospital operations, physician practice management and healthcare reimbursement, we are pleased to provide expert witness services.

You might have heard the saying “the only argument you win is the one you don’t have.” This is true in life and a lesson hard-learned in today’s business environment.

When a dispute begins to escalate, it is often difficult to back down, even when the cost of fighting the dispute outweighs the potential recoverable damages. And when faced with the strategic decision of whether to sue, seek alternative dispute resolution forums, or settle informally, our emotions and pride often start calling the shots. In addition, since most litigation attorneys pride themselves on their aggressive advocacy skills and stand to reap a tremendous financial benefit when a client heads down the litigation warpath, you are not likely to get unbiased advice on how to proceed.

A couple more observations. First, the skills a litigation attorney develops and perfects to attain success in the litigation world can be a hindrance rather than a help if your goal is to resolve a dispute quickly, reasonably and efficiently. Put another way, many litigation lawyers are quite skillful “hired guns” at trial advocacy, but in diplomacy, they can be quite atrocious! Second, with the tremendous resources that you will expend in a formal dispute, you may want to join the growing number of business decision makers who are finally coming to realize that dispute prevention is paramount.

Does that mean that you should hire an attorney prior to signing every contract or that you should never entertain a lawsuit? Not at all. We don’t believe it is necessary to consult with a doctor with every body ache either. But wouldn't it be wise to consult with an unbiased attorney when the downside exposure exceeds a certain financial threshold? And wouldn't wisdom dictate consultation prior to dedicating your resources to all out litigation war?