A house with many rooms

What do we think of when we think of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)? Do we think of commercial disputes being sorted out over a day or two between sophisticated banks and insurance companies in a conference room at Freshfields? Or of a small claims mediator working through the sequence of telephone calls (aggregate time-limit one hour) to sort out a £3,000 claim by a builder? Or is our image of a volunteer community mediator shuttling between a pair of neighbours in Wandsworth to resolve a dispute about a vigorous leylandii hedge? Do you think of an ACAS conciliator using a mixture of advice, guidance and mediation with employer and employee to prevent employment tribunal proceedings being (expensively) commenced? I haven’t even touched upon workplace mediation or family mediation or any of the mass of consumer conciliation schemes or peer mediation or....