Mediation and Arbitration, also known as, alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, plays a critical and expanding role in today’s legal system. Litigation, especially for individuals and small businesses, can be very costly and often lasts several years before the case is resolved by trial or otherwise, with the potential for many more years should the appellate process run its course. Thus, mediation and arbitration, the most common forms of ADR, can often serve as cost-effective and efficient alternatives to litigation while allowing the parties to reach a resolution outside of the courtroom in a neutral setting. Although mediation and arbitration each have various forms, most often mediation is a non-binding process where a disinterested individual, usually an attorney, meets with the litigants and their counsel and attempts to convince each litigant to compromise so as to resolve the conflict. Arbitration, generally, is binding, where a disinterested party, often times an attorney, hears the litigants’ arguments and arrives at a final decision. Both mediation and arbitration are proven and effective methods of ADR.

JOHNSON & DAVIS attorneys regularly represent clients in mediations and, less often, in arbitrations, drawing on their courtroom and transactional experience to craft resolutions that accomplish the goals of their clients and further save them the additional costs and expenses of drawn-out litigation. Further, the Firm’s two Shareholders, Barry L. Johnson and Hutson S. Davis, Jr., are both certified mediators by the South Carolina Supreme Court, and Mr. Johnson is also certified as an arbitrator. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Davis, who each have practiced law in South Carolina for over 40 years, use their extensive experience to mediate, and oftentimes resolve, disputes between parties.

Both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Davis are available to serve as mediators in civil law and equity cases in South Carolina. Mr. Johnson is also available to serve as an arbitrator in such cases.

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