1. What Is the MASTER Programme?
The MASTER Programme outlines a simple conflict management process designed to facilitate more informed and expedited decision-making at the early stages of a dispute.
The Early Case Assesment (ECA)/Litigation Risk Assessment (LRA) process calls for a team working together in a specified time frame to gather the key facts of the dispute, identify the key business concerns, and assess the various risks and costs the dispute poses for the company.
The Early Dispute Resolution (EDR) process calls for an informed choice or recommendation on how to handle the dispute and best options for resolving the dispute at an early stage if possible.

2. The Benefits of MASTERing a Dispute
Saves money – reduces the long cycle times for cases and thus lower overall litigation costs
Private resolution helps avoid adverse publicity and reputational damages
Promotes prompt resolution of conflicts, avoiding escalation and allowing the business to get back to core functions
Preserves important business relationships
Allows for more creative resolutions
Implements a process to reach more informed outcomes with fewest additional transaction costs
Minimises the risk of missing early resolution opportunities
An Early Resolution Is Often a Good Resolution: 
MASTER promotes favorable resolution of matters through negotiation, mediation or other Alternative Dispute Resolution processes.

3. Early Resolution Can Prevent Escalation
“Prevent a complaint from becoming a case, a case from becoming a cause, a cause from becoming a crisis and a crisis from becoming a calamity.”
John A. Schulman, GC, Warner Bros
COMPLAINT

4. The 80 Percent Rule
GSK will know 80 percent of what it will ever know about a case after 60 days.
GSK might not know everything.
But GSK will know enough to provide our business partners with key factual, legal, financial, “next step,” and other relevant information to allow them to make expedited but informed decisions regarding disputes

5. The One Challenge With EDR
Early Case Assessment
(ECA)
Step 1
Early Dispute Resolution
(EDR)
Step 2
It is voluntary and requires agreement from other side
Luckily, there are a number of strategies and techniques for getting other side to agree
One key strategy is to build it into our contract language.
CPR Pledge
Litigation Prenuptials
Could be interactivity here where you ask people to think about some of the key challenges and then ask them to solve those key challanges

6. Early Resolution Saves Litigation Costs
Georgia-Pacific 10 Year Critical Review ( )
Georgia-Pacific saved $32.78 million in litigation costs alone.
The number of lawsuits declined.
The program was just as successful in injury cases as commercial disputes.
Motorola
Motorola reduced litigation costs by 75% in 6 years.
Motorola settled over 64% of employment cases before discovery when costs escalate drastically.
2007 Cogent Research/Lexis Nexis Study
Early assessment lead to a 76% favorable outcome.
Early assessment lead to a 50% reduction in litigation costs.
Biggest challenges: 87% only had an informal program and 64% lacked sufficient time.
Sources: Georgia-Pacific’s ADR Program: A Critical Review After 10 Years, Dispute Resolution Journal (May-July 2005); Edward Friedland et al., Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel, Section 19. (April 2011); Babs Deacon, Process Makes Perfect: Some Guidance on Mastering Early Case Assessment, October 2010).