Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at Minster Law

The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) were amended on 1 October 2024 to include a rule facilitating parties to reach settlement agreements without the need to litigate and proceed to a final hearing. It appears that many personal injury firms were not prepared for this change and as a result are struggling to adapt to it retrospectively. 

At Minster Law, we have been exploring and testing the numerous Alternative Dispute Resolution options available since early 2022. This demonstrates how Minster Law strives to be a progressive law firm in our sector, with the ability to imagine and pioneer new and exciting approaches to the benefit of our customers and stakeholders. 

Through our exploration and rigorous testing, in mid-2022 we made the decision to partner with Nuvalaw who offer a cutting edge and fully digital ADR claims resolution process.  

What are the benefits of using Nuvalaw ADR in place of litigation? For me, the most obvious benefit is time. Let’s compare the timescales of settling a claim using Nuvalaw ADR versus litigating a claim to be trial at a Small Claims Hearing or a Fast Track.  

Figures published by Ministry of Justices showed that the average time between the commencement of litigation and trial for Small claims is 55.8 weeks. The average time between the commencement of litigation and trial for Fast track is 85.7 weeks. 

The collaboration between Minster Law and Nuvalaw has opened the door to offering our customers the ability to settle disputed quantum claims via the use of an independent arbitrator within 10 days… yes that’s not a typing error… 10 days! 

In reality, of the cases submitted by Minster Law for Nuvalaw ADR in December 2024 the average time from submission to receiving the arbitrators decision was 7 days! 

This reduction in claim lifecycle has benefits for all the parties involved, the party that is no longer needed, and additional secondary benefits to the society at large. 

The customer benefits from achieving a conclusion to their claim comparable to the finding that would be handed down at a trial, in 10 days compared to over 365 days of waiting should the case be litigated. 

Minster Law benefits in having highly satisfied customers, reduced case lifecycles, costs savings and disbursements saving. 

The third-party representative benefits from a reduced case life cycle, conclusion to reserve amounts, costs savings and disbursements saving. 

The Judiciary benefits from decreased litigation which in turn will help reduce the current back logs and delays plaguing the Judiciary system, and assisting in giving faster access to Justice to others who have cases that cannot be concluded via use of ADR. 

As a benefit to the world at large, while this may not be apparent on the face of assessment, there is a significant positive ecological impact upon the use of Nuvalaw ADR.  

As Nuvalaw ADR is a digital process, there is no need for reams and reams of paper for court bundles and paperwork (while some digital processes are now in place the Judiciary still relies upon hard copy files / paper). There is no need to post / DX hard copies to the courts. Furthermore, as no court attendance is needed there are no carbon emissions impact from various modes of transport that would be required for all of the parties to travel to the court on the day of the trial. 

The use of Nuvalaw ADR has also improved the engagement between Minster Law and third-party insurance companies. Given the fast turnaround of Nuvalaw ADR cases, both Minster Law and the third party insurers have benefitted from Arbitrator decisions and thus insight into their though processes. This allows Minster Law and the third party insurers, through mutual assessment, to adapt and evolve approaches and strategies to remove potential points of friction much faster when compared to the same post-decision analysis derived from litigated cases .  

Internal statistics demonstrate a significant increase in regards to our customers acceptance of Nuvalaw ADR. Comparing the 12-month period from July 2023 – June 2024 to July 2024 – present date Minster Law has seen a 233% increase of cases submitted for Nuvalaw ADR resolution. 

It is apparent that ADR is becoming a critical and essential tool in the progression and conclusion of disputed claims. From the Judiciary providing increasing indicators that the use of ADR must be considered and utilised. To the benefits of the utilisation of ADR for Customers, Minster Law, the third parties and the world at large. 

A law firm’s first duty of care is to the customer, including consideration of all viable options to progress a customers’ case. We also have a duty to ensure that court resources are used properly. Frictional costs are no longer acceptable with ADR and other technology at our disposal. ADR has the capability to become a key component of settling volume claims and at Minster Law we are glad to be leading the way.