Mediation: an alternative dispute resolution method that boards should adopt

LEGAL costs for companies and their boards are on the rise.

The 2015 SID-SGX Board of Directors' Survey found that 80 per cent of boards polled had sought external legal advice compared to just 38 per cent two years previously. It also found that boards place the most reliance on external legal advice compared to other forms of professional advice.

As business becomes more complex and companies expand ever outwards beyond Singapore, this high reliance on legal advisers is expected to continue, particularly as an increasing proportion of legal costs is spent on resolving disputes.

In that regard, litigation is the most common way to resolve legal dis…