“Kaplan’s Executive Guide unravels the mysteries, complexities, and absurdities of modern litigation and its alternatives with penetrating insight, fine judgment, and common sense.”—Douglas G. Baird, Harry A. Bigelow Distinguished Service Professor of Law, The University of Chicago Law School
“Provocative and well-written, Gary Kaplan’s book offers lawyers and business executives a new framework for considering and addressing costly disputes. Although litigation is sometimes necessary, the Executive Guide persuasively shows the importance of planning for potential lawsuits and using proven ADR processes to manage and contain their impact.”—Judith Harris, Esq., Partner, Reed Smith, LLP
“As one who had a strong case, but unrealistic expectations as to time and monetary cost of litigation, I encourage every executive, business owner, and healthcare provider to read Gary Kaplan’s Executive Guide to Managing Disputes. As Mr. Kaplan persuasively explains, the high cost in time and money and uncertainty of litigation makes it a dubious and stressful undertaking, even for the strongest cases. In view of this problem, Gary Kaplan's book, in a sensible and compelling manner, encourages business and healthcare professionals to plan for disputes rather than unrealistically hope that none will arise. By using Gary Kaplan's ADR guide, one can safeguard against costly, time consuming, and wasteful litigation.”—David Gilliand, President, Geodax Technology, Inc.
“Gary Kaplan has succeeded in crafting a work on ADR accessible to the layperson. Any executive who is concerned about the potential for litigation (and that should be everyone) should both read this book and insist that it be standard issue for inside counsel.”—Nick Frollini, Associate Director, Institute for Software
Research, Carnegie Mellon University
“As an advisor to closely held businesses, I have seen far too many internal squabbles devolve into wasteful and self-destructive litigation. With clarity and insight, Gary Kaplan both explains the risk and identifies critical—and surprisingly simple—steps to prevent minor disputes from turning a profitable and productive business into little more than a treasure trove for competing lawyers.”—David Pellegrini, Ph.D., Director, the Global Consulting Partnership
“Gary Kaplan does a wonderful job documenting the exorbitant costs of legal disputes and showing how firms can make effective use of ADR to avoid or minimize the burdens of costly litigation.”—Charles B. Craver, Freda H. Alverson Professor of Law, The George Washington University School of Law
Gary Kaplan's book incisively addresses the broad range of disputes that can undermine business productivity. As consultants, we are often brought into the middle of conflicts between managers who have conducted their investigations, developed their grievances and prepared to do battle in hopes of a favorable decision by senior executives who may be far removed from the facts. The costs of such internal battles can be as astonishing asin litigation. The Executive Guide both explains why business disputesoften spiral out of control and provides sound guidance for managing such
challenges. Thanks, Gary!"—David Sirota, Senior Managing Consultant IBM Corporation
"Needless workplace disputes can hurt even the best run business by diverting attention and resources from productive uses. In the Executive Guide, Gary Kaplan clearly and thoughtfully explains how ADR can resolve isolated disputes through timely and meaningful intervention and prevent them from sparking costly chain reactions or even litigation."—Amy Cook, Director of Human Resources, Ariba, Inc.
"The Executive Guide is a superb introduction of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to business executives. It bridges the gap between academic theory and practical application, showing executives how ADR can be used in business settings to significantly reduce the cost of resolving a wide variety of disputes.
The book begins by describing the default model of dispute resolution: civil litigation. Litigation, however, is an awful way to resolve most business disputes - it is a lengthy, expensive process in which the parties have little control over the outcome. ADR, by contrast, is much more likely to resolve disputes efficiently and palatably because it can neutralize the inherent human biases and strategic incentives that otherwise impede timely settlements. The Executive Guide to Managing Disputes explains how business executives can create and implement effective ADR programs for their organizations."
—Richard Bales, Professor of Law, NKU/Chase Law School
