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Dispute Resolution

In the legal field, conflict resolution and alternative dispute resolution are strategies to bring two or more parties to an amicable agreement outside the courthouse setting, such as via mediation and arbitration. RAND has researched dispute resolution since the early 1980s, beginning with medical malpractice and continuing with a focus on state, appellate, and federal court–ordered arbitration in mass torts, personal injury law suits, and the banking industry.

Research Brief
Would Increased Transparency Improve the Civil Justice System?
This research brief provides an overview of a collection of essays, a collaborative project by the UCLA-RAND Center for Law and Public Policy, examining the trade-offs between transparency and confidentiality in the civil justice system.
Apr 24, 2012
Report
Government Accountability Office Bid Protests in Air Force Source Selections: Evidence and Options
Recent bid protests have caused large disruptions in resource and operational planning in the Air Force, even leading to the cancellation of the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter program, and the Air Force needs tactics to counter such protests.
Feb 22, 2012
Report
Analysis of Government Accountability Office Bid Protests in Air Force Source Selections over the Past Two Decades
The authors used administrative databases on Air Force procurements to analyze trends and identify factors contributing to bid protest activity and outcomes.
Feb 22, 2012
Report
Government Accountability Office Bid Protests in Air Force Source Selections: Evidence and Options — Executive Summary
Recent bid protests have caused large disruptions in resource and operational planning in the Air Force, even leading to the cancellation of the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter program, and the Air Force needs tactics to counter such protests.
Feb 22, 2012
Content
RAND Institute for Civil Justice
The RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ), a part of the Justice Policy program, conducts research on all aspects of civil justice, from trends in litigation and jury verdicts to punitive damages, compensation systems, and alternative dispute resolution. Directly or indirectly, civil justice issues have an impact on us all.
Oct 3, 2011
Report
Business-to-Business Arbitration in the United States: Perceptions of Corporate Counsel
Presents findings from a survey and follow-up interviews of corporate counsel on their thinking about arbitration and its use in business-to-business contracts. The data fill a significant gap in the commercial arbitration literature.
Jan 18, 2011
Dissertation
The Role of Public and Private Litigation in the Enforcement of Securities Laws in the United States
This dissertation analyzes the combination of federal and investors' class actions to enforce federal securities laws, as well as how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act disrupts joint public and private litigation to discipline self regulatory organizations like the national stock exchanges, and the effects of these attempted reforms on the market.
Sep 19, 2007
News Release
RAND Study Finds Class Actions Against Insurers Rose Prior to Recent Reforms and Many Cases Occurred Outside Public View
April 4, 2007 news release: RAND Study Finds Class Actions Against Insurers Rose Prior to Recent Reforms and Many Cases Occurred Outside Public View.
Apr 4, 2007
Report
Assessing Claims Resolution Facilities: What We Need to Know
This article proposes an agenda for research on claims resolution facilities, the results of which could assist in improving the current set of facilities and fashioning better alternatives for the future.
Jan 1, 2004
Report
Court-ordered Arbitration: An Alternative Overview
This article describes court-ordered arbitration and distinguishes it from other dispute resolution procedures.
Jan 1, 2004
Report
Our Courts Ourselves: How the Alternative Dispute Resolution Movement Is Reshaping Our Legal System
Offers a critical perspective on the evolution of alternative dispute resolution.
Jan 1, 2004
Report
Science in the Court: Is There a Role for Alternative Dispute Resolution?
Science in the Court: Is There a Role for Alternative Dispute Resolution?
Jan 1, 2004
Report
Alternative Dispute Resolution in Trial and Appellate Courts
This study reviews the available research on seven major court-administered alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures that appear to be particularly popular and representative of the broader range of alternatives.
Jan 1, 2004
Report
Unintended Consequences of Court Arbitration: A Cautionary Tale from New Jersey
Arbitration programs appear to meet a demand for fair, adjudicative third-party hearings, but in doing so, they don't always improve court efficiency.
Jan 1, 2004
Report
Improving Dispute Resolution for California's Injured Workers: Executive Summary
Analyzes the causes of delays, high cost, and inconsistency in the California workers' compensation courts.
Jan 1, 2003
Report
Improving Dispute Resolution for California's Injured Workers
Analyzes the causes of delays, high cost, and inconsistency in the California workers' compensation courts.
Jan 1, 2003
Journal Article
Private Information, Self-Serving Biases, and Optimal Settlement Mechanisms: Theory and Evidence
The law and economics literature on suit and settlement has tended to focus on two alternative conceptual models.
Jan 1, 2003
Report
ADR Research at the Crossroads
This article traces the development of empirical research on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and its impact on the legal system.
Jan 1, 2001
Report
A Research Agenda: What We Need to Know About Court-Connected ADR
Although practitioners of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) have long emphasized the benefits of substituting problem-solving processes for adjudication, empirical studies indicate that ADR may not save litigation costs or time.
Jan 1, 2000
Report
Class Action Dilemmas: Pursuing Public Goals for Private Gain, Executive Summary
Class action lawsuits — allowing one or a few plaintiffs to represent many who seek redress — have long been controversial.
Jan 1, 1999

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Bryan Frederick

Associate Director, Strategy and Doctrine Program, RAND Project AIR FORCE

Bryan Frederick (he/him) is the associate director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program within RAND Project AIR FORCE, and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. His research interests include strategic competition, interstate deterrence and escalation, conflict forecasting,…
Dwayne M. Butler

Senior Management Scientist

Dwayne Butler is a senior management scientist at the RAND Corporation, and professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His areas of substantive knowledge or experience include: leadership; human capital management; organizational theory; educational theory, with particular…

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