Principles for Policymaking about Collaborative Law and Other ADR Processes

This Article articulates a set of principles for policymaking about alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to promote values of process pluralism, choice in dispute resolution processes, and sound decision making. It argues that policymakers should use a dispute system design (DSD) framework in analyzing policy options. DSD involves systematically managing a series of disputes rather than handling individual disputes on an ad hoc basis. It generally includes assessing the needs of disputants and other stakeholders, planning to address those needs, providing necessary training and education for disputants and dispute resolution professionals, implementing the system, evaluating it, and making periodic modifications as needed