One possible scenario: You’re a small employer. You have two particular employees who are so valuable to your business that you wouldn’t fire either one, let alone both. But they just don’t get along, and this is causing major problems for your business.

Another possible scenario: You’ve lived in the same house for some time. Most of that time, you’ve never had a problem with any of your neighbors. But a few months ago, something happened with one neighbor, and since then, there have been nothing but problems between your family and that neighboring family. Even the family dogs can’t seem to get along anymore.

Litigation wouldn’t help in either of these scenarios. Even if litigation offered a possible resolution, the cost may be too high to make it practical. A possible alternate solution may be dispute resolution, or, as lawyers would call it, alternate dispute resolution. An investment of as little as $750 for a half-day of mediation just might resolve the issues presented in these scenarios. Unlike litigation, with alternate dispute resolution, the parties have a great deal of control over how much the process will cost..