What Difference does ADR Make? Comparison of ADR and Trial Outcomes in Small Claims Court

Abstract

This research is connected to a broader study of the costs and benefits of ADR in Maryland courts conducted by the Maryland Judiciary Administrative Office of the Courts, with funding by the State Justice Institute, SJI-13-N-128, in collaboration with Community Mediation Maryland; Bosserman Center for Dispute Resolution at Salisbury University; the Institute for Governmental Service and Research, University of Maryland, College Park; and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Center for Dispute Resolution. The authors thank the research team, judges, judicial staff, ADR practitioners, and litigants for all of their cooperation, assistance, and support. Caroline Harmon Darrow drafted portions of the original literature review and Haleigh LaChance drafted portions of the research report from which this article was drafted.