JAMS Neutrals 
By Patricia H. Thompson, FCIArb Arbitration provides a toolbox of dispute resolution options that are quicker, more targeted, and less expensive than litigation. However, formal and informal surveys reveal that one important component of this toolbox is unknown or misunderstood by corporate and outside counsel: the parties’ contractual right to appeal the final award, “on …
By Joe Tirado The global coronavirus pandemic has had an enormous impact on all aspects of our lives. Face-to-face meetings have all but disappeared. We have all had to adapt, and the legal profession has been no exception. This is true of both litigation and arbitration practice, although one important area that has been hit …
By Cassandra Franklin A Look at the Past Mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) have existed in other cultures for a very long time, in some serving as the principal means of resolving disputes. However, in the early United States, common law courts were the primary means of resolving disputes. As the …
By Hon. Henry Pitman (Ret.) Continued from Part II of III… Arbitrability Belton v. GE Capital Retail Bank, 961 F.3d 612 (2d Cir. June 16, 2020), petition for cert. filed, No. 20-481 (Oct. 14, 2020): Plaintiffs had opened accounts with defendant credit card companies; the cardmember agreements contained arbitration clauses. Plaintiffs’ accounts became delinquent, and …
By Hon. Henry Pitman (Ret.) Continued from Part I of III… Binding Effect of an Arbitral Decision Ninety-Five Madison Co. v. Vitra Int’l AG, No. 20-1432, 2020 WL 7086186 (2d Cir. Dec. 4, 2020) (summary order): A Landlord and a commercial tenant entered into a settlement agreement in which the landlord approved the tenant’s making …
By Hon. Henry Pitman (Ret.) Regardless of whether one is a proponent or opponent of mandatory arbitration clauses, they have become ubiquitous. According to a March 2015 study performed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 53% of credit card agreements and 99.9% of all mobile phone agreements contain mandatory arbitration provisions (Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau, …
Of the contested matters pending in the probate courts in California, perhaps one in a hundred will be decided through a trial. The rest will be decided through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes. As reflected by these figures, going to trial has become the alternative, and ADR, with its many facets, has become the norm.