Since its founding in 1994, ADR Systems has delivered 30 years of results: tens of thousands of cost-saving settlements in mediations and decisions in arbitrations through our skilled neutrals whom our clients know and trust. Our results have piled up as the popularity of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has proliferated, and so our 30th anniversary celebrates not only our longevity as a business but also how mediation and arbitration have become commonplace,  preferred paths to resolving civil disputes.

“When I started this business, I’d call attorneys, explaining our services, and I’d hear, ‘You want us to do what?’” said Marc Becker, president of ADR Systems. “Now, when I talk to attorneys, they all say the same thing:  ‘I don’t know what we’d do without ADR.’”

The simple fact is this: ADR is so popular because it helps litigants resolve their disputes in more amicable, customizable, private and collaborative ways. They spend less money, mitigate risks and do not wait years—years—for their “day in court,” their chance to be heard by an impartial third-party.

ADR Systems’ founding came before important ADR legislation and coincided with a national conversation about how federal agencies and the federal judiciary could leverage ADR to help parties resolve disputes.

• In 1996, Congress amended and permanently reauthorized the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act, which “requires … that agencies adopt a policy on ADR use, designate a dispute resolution specialist, and provide regular training for personnel involved in implementing ADR policy.”
• In 1998, Congress passed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, which directed federal courts to establish local rules for the use of ADR in all civil actions and to encourage its use by litigants.

This national conversation eventually came to the state level in Illinois. While a state law governing arbitration had been on the books since 1961, the Illinois General Assembly only passed the Uniform Mediation Act, 710 ILCS 35/1 et seq., in 2004, ten years after ADR Systems opened its doors to law firms and their clients.

ADR Systems has witnessed all these momentous legal moments, and we look forward to seeing the next one in 2026: when the National Council of Bar Examiners unveils its NextGen bar exam, which lists negotiation and dispute resolution among its foundational skills for would-be attorneys.

During the last three decades, ADR Systems has provided top-tier services and has led the way in educating attorneys and the public about ADR through complimentary CLE programs, researched articles in our newsletters and the published writings of our neutrals in legal newspapers and online publications.

The future is bright for ADR, and we are proud to have helped make it so. Our neutrals possess a tireless work ethic, incisive legal minds and keen insights into what drives many disputes. They have settled substantially all the case before them and provide the most efficient arbitration services available. Each of them ardently believes that mediation and arbitration advance the common good, and they are eager to serve our clients again and again for many years to come.

To mediate or arbitrate your next dispute with our neutrals, click here.

ADR Systems, It’s Settled.®