We all try to stay on top of developments in the commercial arbitration field. Most can confidently recite the holdings from recent key Supreme Court decisions and a sprinkling of other notable or notorious rulings. But for most of us our busy schedules stand in the way of keeping up with the rapid pace of developments in the ever-evolving world of commercial arbitration. The tidal wave of case law developments has multiple drivers. Certainly, the Supreme Court’s enduing embrace of the …
Articles by Fellows
Commercial Arbitration Is Alive and Well
One hundred years after adoption of what is now Article 75 of the New York CPLR and, soon thereafter, passage of the Federal Arbitration Act, the benefits of arbitrating commercial disputes are generally known and widely accepted in the business community. Arbitration disputes on average are concluded far more quickly and efficiently than court litigation. A study reported by the American Arbitration Association compared the average duration of arbitrations conducted under AAA auspices with …
Arbitrating Disputes Involving Blockchains, Smart Contracts, and Smart Legal Contracts
Blockchain-based distributed (shared) ledgers (“Blockchain Ledgers”) provide an immutable, secure, and tamper-evident alternative to conventional transactional modalities,1 one which also yields enhanced accountability, traceability, and transparency. (Published in the AAA Dispute Resolution Journal, October 2020, Vol. 74, No. 4.) *The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of CCA or any other organization. …
Private Arbitration for Business Disputes in the Time of COVID
Courts are overwhelmed. Courts are funded by taxpayer dollars and are, in the time a pandemic, not a priority for additional funding. Since COVID, many courts have shut down except for maintaining essential functions of handling criminal matters, domestic violence, custody rulings and those explosive public matters that require immediate attention. The courts, for compelling reasons, back-burner commercial disputes. Commercial disputes are of the parties own making, and, almost by …
Technology Arbitration Revisited
Technology arbitration has undergone rapid growth and evolutionary development in the past decade. In 2010, the words “technology” and “arbitration” were rarely found together in the same sentence. Today, in 2020, technology arbitration is widely accepted and routinely relied upon—both in the U.S. and internationally—for resolution of a broad spectrum of technology-related disputes. (Published in the AAA Dispute Resolution Journal, July 2020, Vol. 74, No. 4.) …
Arb-Med: Workable or Worrisome?
Mixed-mode dispute resolution is becoming more common as parties endeavor to structure processes that provide optimal (and sometimes multiple) opportunities to resolve disputes. There are many different ways to structure mixed-mode dispute resolution processes. (Published in the NYSBA New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, Fall 2019, Vol. 12, No. 2.) …
It’s Never Too Late to Arbitrate – The Case for Mid-Suit Arbitration Agreements
The benefits of incorporating arbitration provisions in commercial contracts are well-established. Often overlooked, however, are the advantages of agreeing to arbitrate disputes after the inception of a lawsuit filed in court. (Published in the NYSBA New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, Fall 2018, Vol. 11, No. 2.) …
The Litigation of Arbitration: Five From The Fifth Circuit In 2020
Despite nearly a century having passed since the adoption of the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") to ensure the enforcement of arbitration agreements, the enforcement of arbitration provisions continues to be frequently litigated. Since 2015, the Supreme Court has decided at least six cases regarding the interpretation of the FAA. And in the first half of 2020 alone, the United States Fifth Circuit issued a number of opinions enforcing arbitration awards and provisions. (As published in The …
Can a Commercial Arbitrator Demand a Virtual Hearing?
In light of social distancing required by COVID-19 and the uncertainty as to when it will be safe to congregate in person again, questions abound as arbitrators navigate the shift toward a new digital normal. (As published in The National Law Journal, May 20, 2020.) …
A Brave New World – How Courtroom Attorneys Can Flourish in Arbitration
The age of commercial arbitration has come. "We have become an arbitration nation," said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ninth Circuit just last year; "an increasing number of private disputes are resolved not by courts, but by arbitrators." Like it or not, those confirmed and diehard litigators in the state and federal court systems have to reconcile doubts about the arbitration process and embrace it. (As published in CT Lawyer, March/April 2020.) …