SPEED
Minimizing delay and reducing the time it takes to reach resolution.
Speed is not about rushing parties or forcing premature outcomes. It is about eliminating the structural delays, inefficiencies, and bottlenecks that slow traditional dispute resolution, allowing the process to move at the pace that works best for the clients.
Smarter Dispute Resolution is designed to move as quickly as possible when clients want speed, while remaining flexible enough to accommodate schedules, availability, and readiness. Sessions can be scheduled outside traditional business hours, conducted in shorter or longer formats, or spread out if that better supports thoughtful resolution.
The SMART Method approach emphasizes:
- Streamlined processes: Only steps that meaningfully contribute to resolution are included.
- Use of technology: Virtual meetings, digital document sharing, and flexible scheduling reduce long administrative waits.
- Responsiveness: Communication and negotiation can occur on timelines that suit participants, including evenings or weekends if necessary.
- Avoidance of incentive-driven delays: Because time is not tied to billing or procedural obligations, there is no built-in advantage to prolonging a case.
Speed benefits participants by reducing stress and expense while preventing conflict escalation. Quicker engagement often leads to quicker solutions.
MUTUALITY
Ensuring both participants feel respected, heard, and fairly treated.
Mutuality represents a foundational philosophical shift away from adversarial models of dispute resolution. In traditional litigation, parties are positioned as opponents, competing for advantage within a system designed to produce a winner and a loser. Even when conflict is resolved, the process itself often increases hostility and leaves relationships damaged.
Smarter dispute resolution instead:
- Views the participants as collaborators working toward the same goal: resolution.
- Emphasizes balanced participation, giving all parties equal opportunity to express needs, concerns, and interests.
- Focuses on shared interests rather than rigid or opposing positions.
- Maintains mediator fairness by removing any financial or strategic incentives to favor one side over the other.
By aligning the process around mutual benefit rather than competition, mutuality reframes conflict as a shared problem to be solved. This approach reduces defensiveness, builds trust, and encourages honest engagement, making agreements more stable, more satisfying, and far more likely to endure.
ADAPTABILITY
Allowing the process to adjust to the unique needs of the dispute and the individuals involved.
Most traditional dispute resolution systems are rigid, built on predictable procedures and narrow outcome options. This rigidity can limit creativity and restrict the ability to address the deeper interests behind a conflict.
Adaptability, in the SMART Method, means:
- Flexible structure: The sequence, timing, and format of sessions can be modified based on what works best for the participants.
- Flexible communication: Discussions may be highly structured or informal depending on what best suits the situation.
- Flexible solutions: Unlike court rulings, which must follow legal remedies, adaptive resolution can include creative or nontraditional agreements such as payment plans, apologies, commitments, renegotiated terms, or other personalized arrangements.
- Sensitivity to context: Emotional, cultural, and relational factors can shape how the process unfolds, rather than being treated as irrelevant.
Adaptability allows dispute resolution to be more human-centered and responsive, making it more likely that the outcome will genuinely meet the needs of those involved.
RESULTS
Maintaining a clear focus on meaningful, practical, and lasting outcomes.
Traditional legal systems often view a decision: verdict, judgment, or award as the final result. Yet these outcomes can be appealed, may not satisfy the underlying needs of the parties, and sometimes even escalate conflict.
Within the SMART method, “results” refers to:
- Progress toward agreement: Each step is designed to reduce the gap between parties, not simply prolong discussion.
- Outcome flexibility: Solutions are not constrained by what a court would order.
- Practicality: Agreements aim to resolve the root issues, not just the legal issues.
- Sustainability: Results are judged by whether they create long-term stability and satisfaction, not by whether one side was declared the winner.
- Collaborative support: If a facilitator requires additional insight or perspective, the model encourages professional collaboration to ensure participants receive the most effective guidance.
A results-driven approach keeps the process efficient and centered on resolving the dispute rather than navigating formalities.
TRANSPARENCY
Providing clarity in process, expectations, and communication.
Transparency helps reduce confusion and build trust, two essential components in any dispute-resolution process. Many people find traditional legal procedures opaque, unpredictable, or intimidating. Fees may be unclear, processes unfamiliar, and outcomes difficult to anticipate.
Transparency in the SMART model includes:
- Clear explanation of processes, including what each step entails and why it matters.
- Plain-language communication instead of legal jargon.
- Predictable cost structures that avoid unexpected fees or procedural expenses.
- Open mediator neutrality: Any potential conflicts of interest are disclosed, and participants are informed about how neutrality is maintained.
- Accessible documentation: Agreements, summaries, and procedural updates are shared in a clear, organized format.
Transparency allows all participants to make informed decisions and understand the reasoning behind each stage of the process.