Getting to Yes in Specialized Courts: The Unique Role of ADR in Business Court Cases

The assumed compatibility between ADR and specialized courts is largely unexamined. Without being able to statistically validate the motivations and preferences of individual disputants in a manner to draw generalized conclusions, this article examines the relationship between ADR and specialized business courts by looking at how the two are structurally intertwined through existing procedural rules and implementation practices. Part I of this article describes the foundational structures and concepts behind both ADR and specialized business courts, as well as the similarities and differences between them. Part II explores the existing formal structural relationship between ADR and specialized courts by examining the procedural rules facilitating ADR in both the general trial court and the specialized business courts in twenty-two jurisdictions. Part III observes the relationship between ADR and specialized courts through a judicial survey instrument investigating the use of ADR in specialized business cases and a discussion of the survey results. Part IV makes general observations about the existing collaboration between these two tools, in addition to reviewing trends and proffering suggestions