What is the purpose of an adversarial judicial system?

Compare and contrast the American judicial system and the English judicial system.  What are the pros and cons of each?  If you could pick one, which one would it be?  Why?

Why does the litigation process take so long? What are the benefits of the length of time between pleadings and trial?

Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words with three (3) unique citations.  Be specific, both in terms of what you think and also in terms of your research.