Arbitration & Mediation Practice

Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)  that seeks to resolve commercial disputes where the parties mutually agree as to the arbitrator (or arbitration panel), the procedure to be used during arbitration and the role, if any, of the judiciary (principally, whether the losing party can appeal the arbitration decision up through the court system).

Mediation is another form of ADR whereby a mediator guides the parties through a process (typically less formal and time-intensive than either a trial or an arbitration) intended to help the parties achieve a voluntary settlement. Mediators are usually skilled in the subject matter of the parties’ dispute and talented at working towards a mutually-agreeable result, while also maintaining an objective, neutral view of the parties’ respective views of the relevant facts and law underlying the dispute.

Both forms of ADR can serve parties’ business interests by being both faster and less costly than litigating a dispute in state or federal court. These procedures can also lead more quickly to business finality because, at least in theory, a trial court decision can be appealed for many years, even all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court in certain cases.

Our attorneys have many years of experience both in representing parties in arbitrations and mediations, as well as servings as arbitrators and mediators ourselves.

Representative matters include cases in which our attorneys:

• Represented a female attorney employed by the SEC in arbitration alleging gender discrimination in employment.  Received favorable settlement.
• Represented the seller of major soft drink brand (Snapple) in post closing commercial arbitration