ADR and the Recession

An interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal got me thinking.

What effect is the recession having on the mediation-arbitration-alternative dispute resolution markets?

The reporting by Paulo Prada and Corey Dade analyzes funding cuts in the Georgia state court system. According to the authors, the court system's funding was cut by almost 15% last year, and future cuts are expected. One state judge is reported to have said that temporary hearings (for family custody cases) are now taking 60 days to reach instead of the usual "few weeks at most."

What does this mean for ADR professionals? I'd suggest it means opportunities.

It seems that we're told from day one in our training, and almost all of us market ourselves and the ADR process as a methodology that is cheaper, more efficient, faster, and more creative than the court system.

Now is our opportunity to prove that what we say in our training and marketing materials is true.

As ADR professionals, don't we have an opportunity--and perhaps an obligation--to assist those who are trying to access the court system to help them resolve their disputes in a less expensive, more efficient, and quicker way instead of waiting for overworked and understaffed courts to reach the case? Why can't we step in early and help folks discuss and structure the temporary orders in family cases? Why can't we help parties who are in the midst of a discovery dispute? Why can't we help the parties to resolve all of conflicts that occur during litigation, instead of just focusing on the final resolution of the entire case?

I'd like to know your thoughts.