In addition to offering clients a full range of litigation and arbitration services, K&L Gates assists clients in avoiding and resolving disputes by employing various forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Litigation or arbitration is often necessary and appropriate to resolve certain types of disputes. However, due to the substantial time, expense and public exposure that may be involved, such methods sometimes fail to produce an optimal result, even for the prevailing party.
In many instances, particularly when coupled with early case assessment, ADR procedures may lead to a better result more quickly and at less cost and inconvenience. Further, use of ADR may preserve confidentiality and facilitate ongoing business relationships between parties who also desire a fair resolution of a dispute. K&L Gates lawyers are also trained to help clients avoid litigation and arbitration with early recognition and negotiation of emerging disputes. Firm litigators regularly engage in early case assessment in order to help clients identify disputes that are appropriate for ADR procedures. We often recommend ADR techniques as components in a multi-layered dispute avoidance process.
The effectiveness of ADR often depends upon the nature of the dispute, the timing of the ADR effort and the extent of relevant information exchanged. We are sensitive to these factors and recommend and tailor ADR techniques so that ADR will best serve our clients' interests. Firm lawyers also serve as settlement counsel for clients involved in disputes for which we are not litigation counsel.
K&L Gates lawyers have experience with early case assessment, all kinds of arbitration, mediation, summary jury trials, fast-tracking, mini-trials, mock trials, executive trials, private trials, expert fact-finding, dispute resolution boards, early neutral evaluation, collaborative law commitments and client customized ADR proceedings. K&L Gates lawyers appear regularly before international and domestic dispute resolution tribunals and can handle arbitrations no matter where or under what law or tribunal they are conducted. Also, see our description of K&L Gates’ International and Domestic Arbitration Practice.
K&L Gates lawyers have employed ADR procedures in disputes involving commercial contracts, class actions, product liability, environmental claims, insurance coverage, banking disputes, pension disputes, securities fraud, fiduciary duty, professional negligence, construction, energy, telecoms, real estate, labor and employment, bankruptcy, toxic tort, brokerage account churning, franchise, patent, trademark, anti-trust, and e-commerce claims.
Our business and transaction lawyers often include ADR and jury trial waiver clauses and assist in the formulation of comprehensive integrated dispute resolution mechanisms over a wide range of commercial agreements spanning a broad spectrum of commercial sectors and industries. Our lawyers often structure agreements involving investment projects in order to take advantage of Multilateral and/or Bilateral Investment Treaties so as to guard against political risk as much as possible. Commercial parties often look to MITs, like NAFTA and the Energy Charter Treaty, and the growing number of BITs to provide last-chance protection where their interests are adversely affected, whether by expropriation, unfair or discriminatory treatment or economic measures limiting the ability to export profit or otherwise.
Consistent with our long-standing commitment to ADR, for many years, K&L Gates has been a member of both the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution and the U.K.'s leading proponent of ADR, CEDR, and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. K&L Gates has signed the CPR Law Firm Pledge and regularly participates in CPR and CEDR programs and events. K&L Gates has appointed an ADR counsel to assist our lawyers and clients with ADR procedures and communicate its availability to clients.
K&L Gates lawyers both in the U.S. and the U.K. have lectured and published articles on ADR. Many of our lawyers are trained and certified as mediators, and serve as AAA, CEDR, CPR or court-appointed dispute resolution specialists and on dispute resolution boards. Our lawyers also assist clients in setting up internal dispute management and prevention procedures to handle complaints and disputes involving customers, franchisees, employees and others.
K&L Gates is committed to employing dispute avoidance and ADR to bring about the best and most cost-effective resolutions to our clients' disputes.