Arbitration

Arbitration can be used to resolve virtually any type of civil dispute that the parties agree to submit to arbitration. Our arbitration services cover the full range of disputes, including but not limited to:

• Commercial and contract disputes – Breach of contract claims, supply chain conflicts, distribution agreement disagreements, franchise disputes, joint venture conflicts, and any commercial dispute where the parties need a binding, enforceable decision. Arbitration provides a faster, more efficient, and more confidential alternative to commercial litigation – with arbitrators who have deep industry knowledge and commercial experience.

• International commercial disputes – Cross-border business conflicts involving international trade, foreign investment, joint ventures with foreign partners, and disputes governed by foreign law or international conventions. International commercial arbitration is the globally recognized standard for resolving cross-border disputes, offering neutral forums, expert arbitrators, and awards enforceable in over 170 countries under the New York Convention.

• Construction and infrastructure disputes – Conflicts arising from commercial, industrial, and infrastructure construction projects, including disputes over contract scope, change orders, defective workmanship, design errors, project delays, cost overruns, and performance guarantees. Arbitration has long been the preferred mechanism for resolving construction disputes, and our arbitrators bring the engineering knowledge and construction industry experience these technically demanding cases require.

• Employment disputes – Wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage-and-hour claims, non-compete enforcement, and executive compensation disagreements. Arbitration provides a confidential, efficient process for resolving employment disputes – and is often required by employment agreements and company dispute resolution policies.

• Financial services and securities disputes – Securities fraud claims, broker-dealer disputes, investment fund conflicts, banking disagreements, derivative disputes, and insurance and reinsurance conflicts. FINRA arbitration is mandatory for most broker-dealer disputes, and arbitration clauses are standard throughout the financial services industry.

• Energy and natural resources disputes – Oil and gas conflicts, power purchase agreement disputes, renewable energy project disagreements, pipeline disputes, mining conflicts, and LNG pricing arbitrations. Energy arbitration involves complex technical evidence, significant financial stakes, and frequently cross-border dimensions that make arbitration the mechanism of choice.

• Technology and intellectual property disputes – Patent infringement and licensing disputes, trade secret claims, software development conflicts, SEP/FRAND disputes, and technology contract breaches. Arbitration allows parties to select technically qualified arbitrators and resolve IP disputes confidentially – protecting proprietary information that public litigation would expose.

• Real estate disputes – Commercial lease conflicts, construction defect claims, co-ownership disputes, property development disagreements, and real estate finance disputes. Arbitration provides a binding resolution process that protects property value and delivers outcomes faster than real estate litigation.

• Healthcare disputes – Medical malpractice claims, insurance coverage disagreements, provider-payer disputes, pharmaceutical conflicts, and healthcare regulatory matters. Arbitration provides the medical expertise and confidentiality that healthcare disputes demand.

• Sports and entertainment disputes – Player contract disputes, salary arbitration, guild and union grievances, endorsement conflicts, and entertainment IP disputes. Arbitration is deeply embedded in the sports and entertainment industries through CBAs, guild agreements, and talent contracts.

• Family law disputes – Property division, business valuation, support calculations, and other financial aspects of divorce and family law cases where the parties need a binding determination. Family law arbitration is growing rapidly as an alternative to overcrowded family courts.

• Class and collective arbitration – Class-wide disputes in consumer, employment, and financial services contexts where arbitration clauses govern collective claims. Class arbitration follows specialized procedures (AAA Supplementary Rules for Class Arbitrations) and involves unique procedural and substantive issues.

• Investor-state and treaty disputes – Disputes between foreign investors and sovereign states arising under bilateral investment treaties (BITs), free trade agreements, and investment protection agreements. Investor-state arbitration is conducted under ICSID, UNCITRAL, or other specialized rules and involves unique issues of sovereign immunity, public interest, and treaty interpretation.

Arbitration is a structured, adjudicative process that typically follows these stages:

1. Agreement to arbitrate – Arbitration begins with the parties’ agreement to submit their dispute to arbitration. This agreement may be contained in a pre-dispute arbitration clause in a contract or in a post-dispute submission agreement. The agreement typically specifies the arbitration rules (AAA, JAMS, ICC, UNCITRAL, etc.), the number of arbitrators, the seat of arbitration, and the governing law.

2. Commencement and arbitrator selection – The claimant files a demand for arbitration (or a request, depending on the institution) with the chosen arbitration institution, identifying the dispute and the relief sought. The parties then select the arbitrator(s) – either by mutual agreement, through the institution’s appointment process, or through a list-and-strike procedure. For complex disputes, a three-arbitrator tribunal is common, with each party selecting one arbitrator and the two party-appointed arbitrators selecting the chair.

3. Preliminary conference and procedural order – The arbitrator(s) conduct a preliminary conference with the parties to establish the procedural calendar, including deadlines for written submissions, document exchange, expert reports, and the hearing. The arbitrator issues a procedural order (Procedural Order No. 1) setting forth the rules and timeline for the arbitration.

4. Written submissions and document exchange – The parties exchange written statements of claim and defense, along with supporting documents. Unlike litigation, discovery in arbitration is typically limited to document exchange – there are generally no interrogatories, no requests for admission, and depositions are rare. This streamlined approach significantly reduces costs and accelerates the process.

5. Expert evidence – In disputes involving technical, financial, or scientific issues, the parties may submit expert reports and the arbitrator(s) may appoint independent experts. Expert evidence may be presented through written reports, oral testimony, or « hot-tubbing » (concurrent expert testimony), depending on the arbitrator’s procedural preferences and the parties’ agreement.

6. Hearing – The arbitrator(s) conduct an evidentiary hearing at which the parties present their cases through witness testimony (direct and cross-examination), expert testimony, documentary evidence, and legal argument. Hearings may be conducted in person, by video conference, or in a hybrid format. Hearing duration varies from a single day for simple disputes to several weeks for complex, high-value cases.

7. Post-hearing submissions – After the hearing, the parties may submit post-hearing briefs summarizing the evidence and legal arguments. The arbitrator(s) may also request additional information or submissions on specific issues.

8. Award – The arbitrator(s) issue a written award – a binding decision that resolves the dispute. The award may include findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a determination of damages, costs, and fees. Arbitration awards are final and binding, subject to only very limited judicial review under the FAA (primarily for arbitrator misconduct, excess of authority, or evident partiality).

9. Enforcement – Arbitration awards are enforceable in court under the FAA (domestically) and the New York Convention (internationally). Courts routinely confirm arbitration awards and convert them into judgments that can be enforced through standard collection mechanisms.

Arbitration offers a unique combination of advantages that neither litigation nor other ADR processes can fully replicate:

• Finality – Arbitration produces a binding, enforceable decision. Unlike mediation, there is no risk of impasse. Unlike litigation, there is no risk of prolonged appeals – judicial review of arbitration awards is extremely limited under the FAA, providing certainty and closure.

• Speed – Most arbitrations resolve within six to twelve months. Even complex, multi-party disputes typically conclude within twelve to eighteen months. Compare that to litigation, which routinely takes three to five years – and sometimes much longer – to reach trial and final judgment.

• Cost efficiency – Arbitration eliminates or dramatically reduces the costs of formal discovery, motion practice, and appellate proceedings. While arbitration is not free – arbitrator fees, institutional administration fees, and hearing costs apply – the overall cost of arbitration is typically a fraction of the cost of full-scale litigation.

• Expert decision-makers – Unlike litigation, where cases are assigned to generalist judges and decided by lay juries, arbitration allows the parties to select decision-makers with deep expertise in the subject matter of the dispute. A patent dispute can be decided by a former patent examiner. A construction dispute can be decided by an engineer. A financial dispute can be decided by a former investment banker. This expertise leads to better-informed, more commercially practical decisions.

• Confidentiality – Arbitration proceedings, evidence, and awards are private and confidential – unlike court proceedings, which are a matter of public record. This confidentiality protects trade secrets, financial information, business strategies, and reputations.

• Party autonomy – In arbitration, the parties control the process to a degree that is impossible in court. They choose the arbitrators, select the governing law, set the procedural rules, determine the language of proceedings, choose the seat (location) of arbitration, and control the timeline. This level of customization ensures that the process is tailored to the specific needs of the dispute.

• Global enforceability – International arbitration awards are enforceable in over 170 countries under the New York Convention – a level of cross-border enforceability that no national court judgment can match. This makes arbitration the mechanism of choice for international disputes.

• Neutrality – In cross-border disputes, arbitration provides a neutral forum that is not tied to either party’s home court system. The parties can select a neutral seat of arbitration, neutral arbitrators, and neutral procedural rules – eliminating concerns about home-court advantage or judicial bias.

• Flexibility – Arbitration procedures can be adapted to the complexity, value, and urgency of the dispute. Simple disputes can be resolved on documents alone (desk arbitration). Complex disputes can involve multi-day hearings with live testimony and expert evidence. Emergency relief can be obtained through emergency arbitrator procedures. The process fits the dispute – not the other way around.

• Limited discovery – Arbitration’s streamlined approach to document exchange and evidence gathering eliminates the disproportionate discovery costs that plague litigation – where discovery often accounts for 50% to 80% of total legal costs.

• Procedural efficiency – Arbitrators have broad discretion to manage the proceedings efficiently – consolidating claims, bifurcating proceedings (liability then damages), limiting duplicative testimony, and controlling the hearing schedule. This case management authority allows arbitrators to move cases forward without the procedural bottlenecks that delay litigation.

• Binding arbitration – The arbitrator’s award is final, binding, and enforceable in court. The parties agree in advance to accept the arbitrator’s decision as the definitive resolution of their dispute. Binding arbitration is the most common form of arbitration and provides the finality and certainty that parties need to move forward.

• Non-binding arbitration – The arbitrator issues an advisory award that the parties may accept or reject. Non-binding arbitration is useful as a reality check – helping parties evaluate their positions and the likely outcome of formal proceedings before committing to a binding process.

• Expedited arbitration – A streamlined arbitration process designed for disputes that require rapid resolution – typically concluding within 60 to 90 days. Expedited arbitration features shortened timelines, limited discovery, and a single arbitrator. It is particularly effective for lower-value commercial disputes, time-sensitive IP conflicts, and employment matters.

• International arbitration – Arbitration of cross-border disputes under the rules of major international institutions (ICC, LCIA, ICDR, SIAC, HKIAC, UNCITRAL) or under ad hoc procedures. International arbitration involves unique considerations – including choice of seat, governing law, language, cultural dynamics, and enforcement under the New York Convention – and our arbitrators bring the experience and cultural sensitivity these proceedings require.

• Class arbitration – Arbitration of collective claims under the AAA Supplementary Rules for Class Arbitrations or other applicable frameworks. Class arbitration involves unique procedural steps – including clause construction, class certification, and class-wide award issuance – and our arbitrators are experienced in managing the complexities of collective dispute resolution.

• Emergency arbitration – When parties need urgent interim relief before a full tribunal is constituted – such as preliminary injunctions, asset freezing orders, or preservation of evidence – emergency arbitrator procedures provide expedited access to binding interim measures. Major arbitration institutions (AAA, ICC, JAMS, SIAC) offer emergency arbitrator rules, and our neutrals are experienced in rendering emergency decisions on tight timelines.

• Online and virtual arbitration – We offer fully virtual arbitration conducted via secure video conferencing platforms, allowing parties and witnesses in different locations to participate without travel. Virtual arbitration has become increasingly effective and widely accepted, and our arbitrators are experienced in managing virtual hearings, document presentation, witness examination, and deliberations in the online environment.

• Baseball (final-offer) arbitration – Each party submits a final proposed award, and the arbitrator must select one submission or the other – without modification. Baseball arbitration incentivizes reasonable settlement positions and is commonly used in salary arbitration (MLB), certain commercial disputes, and insurance valuation disagreements.

• High-low (bracketed) arbitration – The parties agree in advance on a minimum and maximum award range. If the arbitrator’s award falls within the range, it stands. If it falls below the minimum, the claimant receives the minimum. If it exceeds the maximum, the respondent pays the maximum. High-low arbitration limits downside risk for both parties while preserving the arbitrator’s independent judgment.