Example ADR method dissertation topic 2:

ADR: Forced compromise or suggested resolution?

After the decisions in Hurst v Leeming and Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust, many argued that ADR had effectively become a requirement during the litigation process. This dissertation looks at whether ADR has become a requirement and what affects such a requirement would have on the resultant ADR process. Have the Hurst and Halsey criteria lessened the blow of the Dunnettrequirement? Is the threat of cost implications enough to result in forced ADR? Can forced ADR ever result in successful resolutions or are parties simply ‘going through the motions’ of dispute resolution? All such questions will be considered.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Isaac, K ‘Pre-Litigation Compulsory Mediation: A Concept Worth Negotiating’ [2010] 32 U La Verne L Rev 165
• McGuire, J ‘Mediation Mandate: Refusing to mediate becoming more difficult on both sides of the Atlantic’ [2002] 9(1) DRM 17
• Newmark, C and Dalhberg, A’New English ADR Principles Advance Law, Raise New Questions’ [2004] 22(9)Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation 146