Recently in Alternative Dispute Resolution Category

The Ministry of Justice has given further details on how new money will be spent on mediation services in a bid to take 80,000 small claims cases out of the court system. However, lawyers have spoken out against the changes, saying that they will result in a denial of justice for many.

It is thought the bulk of the 80,000 claims will come from neighbourhood disputes and rows over unpaid debts. Under the plan, cases such as these will be directed towards a new telephone mediation service.

It is hoped this will resolve many, which should speed up the small claims courts and save money for those who avoid going to court.

A sports management company insisting that Wayne Rooney owes them £4.3m, has won the right to appeal a court ruling against their claim.

Lord Justice Ward, speaking at the court of appeal yesterday (7 February), said that Proactive Sports Management should be allowed to appeal a ruling against their claim for 20 per cent of some of Rooney's biggest endorsement deals.

Rooney, who believes Proactive's claim is "just an attempt to exploit us", says he
will "fight for what's right".

The UK's professional body for solicitors is launching an attack on government plans to cut legal aid.

Campaigners at The Law Society are asking members of the public to sign an online petition, launched 7 February. They are protesting against the government's legal aid green paper, which they say will leave 30 million Britons 'silenced in court'.

The green paper, detailing £350m worth of legal aid cuts, was launched by Justice
Secretary Kenneth Clarke in November 2010. It is 'under consultation' until February 14, so anyone who objects has under a week to make themselves heard.

Carlo Ancelotti may soon be following Ray Wilkins out of Stamford Bridge if weekend press reports are to be believed. The Chelsea Football Club manger is evidently considering his future at the club after his former assistant was abruptly fired last week.

The Pensioners have lost two games and squandered a six point lead over their premiership rivals Manchester United since Wilkins's departure. Following the 1-0 loss against Birmingham City on Saturday, Ancelotti conceded he does not have "total control of the team" and that it was "not my decision" to dismiss Wilkins.

According to a Chelsea source quoted in the Telegraph and Guardian, the Italian now believes "something is broken" at the club. The same source describes him as being at his "lowest ebb" and "concerned that he let Wilkins down".

A senior executive at the Automobile Association (AA) has been forced to apologise to a co-worker in open court for claiming she sent him a pornographic email.

Gordon Cartwright sent an email to union officials and HR representatives at AA in April 2007 accusing a "female colleague on the Hotel Services senior team" of sending him "an unsolicited and deeply offensive email containing graphic, hardcore pornography".

In context, the reference to the "female colleague" could only have been understood to refer to his co-worker Jayne Wyatt, a person with whom he had a "strained" personal and professional relationship.

A French teacher who condemned 'utterly chaotic' state schools at the Tory Party conference last month has reportedly left her job at an inner city academy in Camberwell, south London.

Katharine Birbalsingh, 37, won a standing ovation at the conference, in which she said teachers were 'blinded by leftist ideology', exams were dumbed down and 'well meaning liberal' teachers refused to discipline black children for fear of being called racist.

According to the Daily Mail, however, Ms Birbalsingh's performance 'horrified her headmistress', who asked her to work from home after the conference 'while her position was reviewed'.

A pub manager who allegedly paid casual workers cash in hand to cover his shifts has agreed to settle his claim for constructive dismissal after only one day of an employment tribunal hearing in Glasgow.

John Madden worked at the Mitchells & Butler-owned Pullman Tavern in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, and resigned last winter after his boss said he would need to attend a disciplinary hearing.

Leading up to this, Stanley Campbell, a retail business manager at Mitchells & Butler, said he noticed serious problems with health and safety at the pub.

He arranged for a "manager in training", Diane Muckersie, to take over Mr Madden's responsibilities -- effectively demoting Mr Madden to "deputy manager" in the process.

A beefeater sacked for allegedly harassing the Tower of London's first and only female yeoman warder has reportedly won £100,000 in compensation following an out-of-court settlement.

Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity that runs the Tower, Hampton Court and several other historic sites, dismissed 44-year-old Mark Sanders-Crook last November after investigating claims he bullied Moira Cameron.

[Continued from Flexible working: poisoned chalice? (Part 2)]

In the third of three entries on flexible working we take a look at the current legal process for requesting flexible working and challenging an employer's refusal.

A firefighter, sacked after he emailed co-workers asking if any of them had suffered back pain, has won £80,000 for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.

Christopher Bennett, 46, who suffers from arthritis of the spine, worked for the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service for more than 25 years. He started suffering from back problems after the Service controversially replaced beds at the fire station he worked at with reclining chairs.

The Ministry of Defence will increase the limitation period during which troops can claim compensation for personal injuries suffered during active service, as part of a series of changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme announced this week.

The change is just one of several recommended by the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Review earlier this year. The majority of the changes that were recommended require legislative amendment to the Scheme and will be implemented by February 2011, but some changes can be made more quickly and will take effect from 3 August 2010.

The Family Justice Review Panel, appointed by the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Education, and the Welsh Assembly Government, has launched a 'Call for Evidence so that anyone with an interest in the family justice system can contribute their views on how it can work better in the future.

This is part of a fundamental review of the system announced by the Government in the coalition agreement. The Review will be comprehensive in scope including looking at how to improve use of mediation and provide better access rights to non-resident parents and grandparents.

The 'Call for Evidence' is seeking views on key areas of the family justice system including how to have a more user-friendly and child-focused system; the best methods of resolving family disputes, using alternatives to legal process, and how the system is governed, managed, and funded.

Questions the Panel is seeking views on include:

Conduct of arbitration proceedings

As mentioned in Part 1, different arbitration organisations apply different rules, but there are some provisions that all abide by. The Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration (the "LCIA Rules") are often used for commercial arbitration, and are a good example of rules that have been tried and tested.

Parties to disputes sometimes elect to resolve matters by arbitration rather than court action. Indeed, frequently commercial contracts specify that the parties must resolve disputes by arbitration.

For those unfamiliar with alternative dispute resolution, arbitration means an impartial and independent third party decides how to resolve the dispute. In most cases, the arbitrator's decision is binding and cannot be challenged.

To many of you, arbitration may sound a heck of a lot like court. The key difference is that arbitration usually takes place behind closed doors and the arbitrator's decision must remain secret unless the parties agree otherwise.

Why choose arbitration over litigation?

A multi-million pound case involving claims of sexual discrimination, victimisation and constructive dismissal has finally settled after a three year legal battle.

The London Evening Standard reports Gill Switalski, 54, former head of legal affairs at F&C Asset Management has agreed to withdraw her claim in return for "an undisclosed multi-million-pound sum."

Ms. Switalski earned £140,000 a year while working at F&C, which controls assets of more than £100?billion, and also ran her own property development company and a legal training website.