Settlement negotiations and arbitration

It will, generally speaking, be in the best interests of a party to explore all genuine opportunities to settle given the time, cost, outcome risk, reputation, relationship and other potential implications of being involved in a dispute of any kind.

The parties to a dispute may engage in settlement negotiations or an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process such as mediation before arbitration proceedings have been contemplated or commenced. In the event that an attempt at settlement is successful at that early stage, the parties will typically record their mutual understanding in a settlement agreement, which can be enforced as a legally binding contract between the parties. For general guidance on pre-action settlement in English civil litigation