Use and Benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution

A Statistical Summary Prepared by the Department of Justice

If anyone needs statistical evidence that ADR saves money and reduces litigation, here it is. Last year the government saved over $12 million in litigation and discovery expenses, over 14,600 days of attorney time, and avoided over 1,200 months of litigation by the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. These savings were achieved primarily through the use of mediation at a cost of under $2 million. Six dollars saved for every one dollar spent is pretty good cost/benefit ratio, if you ask me.

This data is being reported by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR). The ODR was set up to develop Justice Department policy regarding the use of ADR.

These are just the government’s cost savings and, according to the ODR, are “based on detailed case reports submitted by the lead trial counsel in all cases in which a private neutral conducted an ADR process in Department litigation across the country.”

Also note that in 2011 nearly 75% of the voluntary ADR proceedings (cases in which the government and other parties agreed to ADR without being ordered by a court) were “resolved” (i.e., settled). About 50% of cases ordered into ADR, by contrast, were resolved – still a significant percentage but perhaps an indication of why voluntary ADR works so well.

This chart is pretty strong evidence of the cost-saving benefits of ADR.

Category	TOTALS
	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
Success Rates for ADR
Voluntary ADR Proceedings	73% Resolved	80% Resolved	78% Resolved	79% Resolved	69% Resolved
Court-Ordered Proceedings	53% Resolved	46% Resolved	42% Resolved	51% Resolved	50% Resolved
Cases in Which ADR Achieved Benefits	86%	73%	83%	No Data	No Data
Quantified Benefits of ADR
Litigation or Discovery Expenses Saved	$12,185,750	$11,662,500	$5,940,287	$3,387,750	$3,001,000
Days of Attorney/Staff Time Saved	14,656 Days	12,260 Days	5,829 Days	23,010 Days	2,797 Days
Months of Litigation Avoided	1,231 Months	930 Months	849 Months	661 Months	429 Months
DOJ Support ADR
Expenditures for Mediation Services	$1,931,900	$1,547,874	$1,141,103	$1,362,320	$1,049,891
Number of Case Authorized for ADR Funding	470	718	528	522	505

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Dispute Resolution