People generally hire attorneys when they face challenging situations that they can’t manage on their own. Some people hire lawyers to plan for the future, but many hire legal professionals only when responding to a dispute. Agricultural work is relatively common in Washington, with farmers and ranchers raising all kinds of crops and livestock.
Unfortunately, the conduct of one agricultural professional could have a major impact on someone else. Perhaps a rancher with grazing cattle delayed repairing a damaged fence or replacing an aged one for too long. Their cattle may have broken through the fence and gone on to wreak havoc in a neighbor’s fields.
Maybe two professionals originally worked as partners and now want to separate their agricultural operations. There might be a dispute about how to split the parcel that they acquired jointly or how to handle least farm equipment that might be in the name of just one partner. Attorneys representing agricultural professionals embroiled in disputes may want to consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a way of helping protect their clients.
Judges may not understand farm life
When civil disputes and up at trial, a judge considers the situation carefully before determining the best solution. Unfortunately, judges don’t always make the right choices. They may not have much understanding of the value of crops or of the amount of work that goes into raising livestock.
The judgments that they enter may not align with the best interests of either party involved in a disagreement. ADR options such as arbitration and mediation can help agricultural professionals preserve their control over the outcome of the dispute.
The goal of ADR is to settle the matter amicably in a way that both parties agree is appropriate. They discuss the details of the situation in a private environment. The third-party arbitrator or mediator can help facilitate negotiations or may propose a specific solution in arbitration scenarios. The parties involved in the dispute typically have the option of rejecting a proposed settlement unless they agreed to binding arbitration.
If ADR is unsuccessful, the option of going to court still exists. However, both parties can save money and minimize the possibility of a highly unfavorable outcome by agreeing to cooperate outside of court. Agricultural clients often value keeping the details of a dispute confidential and having a say in the final outcome.
Lawyers who explore how mediation and arbitration can help resolve disputes related to farming or ranging can potentially help their clients control costs and obtain the best outcome possible. Assisting clients and finding ways to resolve a dispute without going to court can be as important as the will to represent them during litigation in many cases.