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from The Boston Business Journal, June 7-13, 2007, page 13
No argument: Area ADR firms see boost in business
by Lisa van der Pool
Journal staff
The desire to resolve problems and negotiate lucrative deals
without going through the potentially costly and lengthy
legal system has fueled growth in a handful of the largest
Boston-area alternative dispute resolution firms.
Locally, the number of alternative dispute-resolutions cases
rose slightly in 2006 to 11,989 from 11,799 the previous
year, according to research by the Boston Business Journal.
Boston-based Commonwealth Mediation & Conciliation Inc. saw
its caseload jump to 1,045 in 2006 from 985 in 2005, placing
it fourth on the BBJ's list of the top 25 ADR firms.
The firm, which finds most of its clients through
word-of-mouth and referrals, said that a desire to solve
problems cheaply and fast is driving growth.
"In this business, time is money, and the court systems take
so long and are so costly that the alternative dispute
business came along to resolve the claims quicker and save
money," said Paul Finn, president and CEO of Commonwealth
Mediation. "Plus, through mediation, the parties decide how
the case gets resolved, as opposed to allowing a judge or a
jury to make the decision for them."
Commonwealth Mediation works on cases in the employment,
insurance, general liability and environmental areas. To
drive future growth, the firm is targeting business and
construction disputes as its top growth area. To drive
awareness of the firm's new focus, the firm next week will
break its first-ever television advertising campaign on New
England Cable News.
Business for Mediation Works Inc. remained flat with 933
cases in 2006 -- the same number of cases it logged in 2005.
Mediation Works continued its dispute resolution programs
with General Motors Corp. and Coca-Cola, and the company
also offers an ombudsman service for employee conflicts at
businesses.
"Our focus is to really help people to create the best deals
possible," said Charles Doran, executive director at
Boston-based Mediation Works. "We want to avoid people
leaving value on the table. The benefit is, it grows
long-term working relationships. If people approach conflict
resolution as a battle -- you will have a winner and a
loser. If you approach it as an opportunity to clarify
differences, then both sides of the business grow."
At Metropolitan Mediation Services, a nonprofit
dispute-resolution organization, cases swelled to 1,124 in
2006 from 939 in 2005, placing it second on the BBJ's list
of top firms. The American Arbitration Association was at
the top of the list, with 2,482 cases.
Metropolitan Mediation Services is funded by the Boston Bar
Foundation and specializes in handling youth/school
disputes, small claims, civil and juvenile courts.
For, Joan Sokoloff, director of Metropolitan Mediation
Services, there is a definite formula to approaching her
mediation work.
"Mediation is all about the present and the future," said
Sokoloff. "First of all, we talk in a joint session and they
each talk about their perspective on the problem. They get a
chance to vent and talk about what's wrong. Then we have a
private session with each party. We trying to get at the
underlying interests in any dispute."
Lisa van der Pool can be reached at lvanderpool@bizjournals.com.
© 2007 American City Business Journals Inc.
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