As a part of our work, Alternate Dispute Resolution has achieved institutional focus through the operation of the Elders Helpline once a week. The stress is on resolving disputes without having to approach the courts using other methods for dispute resolution. For example the Elders Helpline being located at the Police Commissioners Office and the Disabilities Cell being located at the Commissioner for Disabilities, Govt. Of Karnataka  has been instrumental in aiding the process of achieving pre litigation outcomes.
Our work has taught us the value of Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanisms as seen in the Disabilities Cell and  Elders Helpline wherein the number of cases we have been able to resolve even prior to litigation  as compared to the more expensive , time intensive and uncertain litigation outcome points to the merit of alternatives to litigation

Legal Aid Cell for Senior Citizens

The Elders' Help Line ("EHL") is joint project of the Bangalore City Police and the Nightingales Medical Trust. Senior citizens in distress may call 1090 between 8 AM and 8 PM for assistance.

 ALF was approached by the Nightingales Medical Trust in April 2002 to provide legal aid services to those persons calling the help line for assistance. In this context ALF has been running a legal aid cell and a mediation and conciliation cell on Thursdays at the help line's office, located at the Office of the Police Commissioner, Bangalore.

ALF's role is to provide complainants with legal advice as well as to attempt to conciliate matters so as to avoid unnecessary litigation that may take up to several years.

 Most of the legal complaints lodged at EHL are regarding property. A bulk of the complaints pertains to tenancy and rent, while others pertain to partition and succession. Cheque bounce and money recovery suits are also common. Contrary to our expectation, few cases are about maintenance and parents not being taken care of by children in their old age.

 Please see the monthly reports uploaded on this site from time to time for further details.