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18 www.canadianlawyermag.com READERS' CHOICE AWARDS 2021: CELEBRATING THE BEST IN CLASS Doing business better during a pandemic It goes without saying that COVID-19 continues making all of us adjust to new or different ways of doing things. The legal sector is no exception, so law firms of all sizes are looking at what vendors can offer to help make their practices work smarter. Mean- while, life goes on for the typical law firm client, and they are looking for ways of doing what needs to be done more efficiently. SHOWCASING THE TOP VENDORS THAT LAWYERS RELY ON A good example is in Alternative Dispute Resolution using arbitration. Kim Stewart, CEO and co-founder of Readers' Choice winner Arbitration Place (in the ADR medi- ation chambers category), says she has seen a considerable increase in demand for arbitra- tion services, thanks in part to the continuing backlog in the court system, especially when it comes to commercial matters. "There have been several practice directives issued by the courts encouraging parties to consider "There have been several practice directives issued by the courts encouraging parties to consider alternative dispute resolution." Kim Stewart, Arbitration Place READERS' CHOICE IN NUMBERS 7th Annual Canadian Readers' Choice Awards 116 winners reflecting 85 different companies 38 subcategories within 7 categories 3,200 votes from Canadian Lawyer readers alternative dispute resolution." The compul- sory use of arbitration is more likely to be baked into a contract these days as a means of settling disputes, she says. Still, even when such a clause is not included, there is more SPECIAL REPORT