Litigation, filing or defending against a lawsuit in a court of law, is a common avenue for settling disputes in modern society. But litigation is increasingly costly—in terms of time, money, and other resources—and invariably time-consuming, with civil litigation (contractual disputes, personal injury claims, etc.) not uncommonly taking upward of 3 to 5 years before hearing and final settlement or judgment.

In response to these many drawbacks, alternatives to litigation—other less costly and time-consuming methods for settling disputes—have been sought by litigants and subsequently [Page 152]developed by legislators, community leaders, and legal practitioners. While all such alternative methods actually predate contemporary legal litigation in a sovereign’s court (many can be traced to dispute resolution techniques employed during the time of, and even before, the Roman Empire), ...