Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

Nonconsensual Nonbinding = Nonsensical? Reconsidering Court-Connected Arbitration Programs, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

Policymakers have adopted programs mandating parties to submit their disputes to court connected arbitration hoping to garner efficiency benefits commonly associated with contractual Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) arbitration. Mandatory nonbinding arbitration, however, is ill-equipped for this task because it lacks the consensual core and finality of FAA arbitration. Instead, it often adds an inefficient layer to the litigation process and may harm those least able to protect themselves from coerced settlements or burdens of protracted litigation.

Research In International Commercial Arbitration: Special Skills, Special Sources, S. I. Strong

Faculty Publications

Experts agree that international commercial arbitration relies far more heavily on written advocacy than litigation does, yet very few practitioners and arbitrators have ever received any specialized training in how to research and present written arguments in this unique area of law. Newcomers to the field are particularly disadvantaged, since the legal authorities used in international commercial arbitration are unique and novices often do not know how to find certain materials, if they are even aware that these items exist. This article helps deepen the understanding of the practice of international commercial arbitration by describing how experienced international advocates and …

Extending The Shadow Of The Law: Using Hybrid Mechanisms To Establish Constitutional Norms In Socioeconomic Rights Cases, Brian E. Ray

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article challenges the general perception that ADR processes cannot develop public law norms. It follows a recent trend in ADR literature that seeks to define a public norm creation role for ADR in part by connecting these processes to other alternative legal and political problem-solving methods. This Article focuses on a recent South African Constitutional Court case, Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road v City of Johannesburg, in which the court interpreted the right to housing in the South African Constitution. The court held that municipalities must develop processes for negotiating - or, in the court's language "engaging" - with …

Resolving The Softwood Lumber Dispute, Sarah E. Lysons

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment argues that the London Court of International Arbitration will be able to resolve disputes involving softwood lumber but not resolve the softwood lumber dispute. Part II reviews the history of the dispute. Part III discusses the lessons that Canada and the United States have learned about resolving trade disputes, several of which are reflected in the current agreement. Part IV examines why, although the current agreement provides a degree of neutrality and finality to the dispute that prior regimes lacked, inherent political pressures will prove too large for even this agreement. Finally, Part V concludes that the dispute …

The Failure Of Adversarial Process In The Administrative State, Bryan T. Camp

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Arbitration After Hall Street V. Mattel: What Happens Next?, Stanley A. Leasure

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Family Group Conferencing And Child Protection Mediation: Essential Tools For Prioritizing Family Engagement In Child Welfare Cases, Kelly Browe Olson

Law Faculty Scholarship

Family group conferencing (FGC) and child protection mediation maximize family engagement in child welfare cases by prioritizing families' roles in discussions and decisions. This article examines how FGC helps professionals to focus on family and community strengths, encourages family engagement, and provides targeted case plans for families and timely, permanent placements for children. It explores how courts and agencies use these interventions to empower families to contribute to resolutions in ways that are not possible in traditional litigation processes. These complementary processes help children and families by providing forums where families are allowed to make informed choices and take an …

A Step Too Far: Pyett And The Compelled Arbitration Of Statutory Claims Under Union-Controlled Labor Contract Procedures, Mark Berger

Faculty Works

Over time, the Federal Courts have become increasingly supportive of and deferential to arbitration and mandatory arbitration clauses. Because arbitration under Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) were governed by different but analogous statutes, however, there were always rules carved out for CBA-related arbitration, specifically with regard to claims of discrimination based on statutes external to the CBA. However, as the mandatory arbitration of statutory claims became accepted under non-CBA agreements, the reasoning of this rule was undermined. In 14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett, the Supreme Court abandoned this separation and adopted a rule that CBAs could mandate that statutory claims be …

Is It The Real Thing: How Coke's One-Way Binding Arbitration May Bridge The Divide Between Litigation And Arbitration, Suzette M. Malveaux

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This article is comprised of six parts. Part I introduces the topic. Part II examines the growing prevalence of compulsory pre-dispute arbitration agreements in employment contracts and the problems with such agreements. Part III describes the challenges employees face in the federal court system: higher pleading thresholds for intentional discrimination claims, the federal judiciary's current antagonism toward employee claims of discrimination (as demonstrated by recent empirical studies), and a beleaguered EEOC. Part IV describes how Coke adopted one-way binding arbitration and explores the ways in which this alternative is preferable to both mandatory arbitration and civil litigation for employees, employers, …

Plenary Session Panel: The Sixth John A. Speziale Alternative Dispute Resolution Symposium, Lela P. Love

Articles

No abstract provided.

From The Chair, Lela P. Love

Articles

No abstract provided.

Building The Civilization Of Arbitration - Introduction, Thomas E. Carbonneau

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Supreme Court's work product has generated a large and growing arbitration bar. It also has finally begun to stimulate a greater volume of academic activity on the topic of arbitration. The work of legal practitioners and academics,along with the courts' decisional law, are "Building a Civilization of Arbitration" that codifies advances and grapples with the controversial aspects of law-in-the making.The Penn State Dickinson School of Law takes great pride in welcoming a distinguished group of lawyers and law teachers to the pages of its Law Review.They are the leaders in the field of arbitration. Their contributions identify the …

Judicial Approbation In Building The Civilization Of Arbitration, Thomas E. Carbonneau

Faculty Scholarship

This article describes and assesses the work of three national courts in regard to arbitration. The English experience demonstrates that judicial diffidence toward arbitration and concomitant reverence for the cohesion of substantive law can hamper the acceptance and function of arbitration within the legal system. The French and American experiences attest to a contradistinctive use of judicial authority in regard to arbitration. In both legal systems, the courts have been instrumental to the elaboration of a receptive and accommodating law on arbitration. In these legal systems, legislative enactments are used as a springboard for developing a judicial policy and decisional …

Arguments In Favor Of The Triumph Of Arbitration, Thomas E. Carbonneau

Faculty Scholarship

Arbitration is not just another trial procedure. It epitomizes a practical understanding of the purpose and value of adjudicatory procedures. It poses a substantial challenge to adversarial litigation by exposing its underlying irrationality and its destructive impact upon society. It guarantees the rule of law domestically and internationally through affordable access, expedited proceedings, expertise, and bridging the gap between national legal systems. It is a valuable institution that should not become a pawn in the tired and unimaginative political discourse that substitutes 'talking points' for genuine reflection and debate. The gravamen of the current attack on arbitration is not the …

Lawyers Without Borders, Catherine A. Rogers

Faculty Scholarship

Professional regulation of attorneys is still attempting to catch up with the burgeoning international legal profession, which until recently has been wholly unregulated. The primary effort has been through revisions to Model Rule 8.5 to extend the reach of the Rule to international cases and professional activities in foreign countries. Because Rule 8.5 was drafted for domestic multi-jurisdiction practice, however, it is based on assumptions about territoriality and the historical relationship between the jurisdiction of tribunals and the licensing of attorneys that are simply inapposite in international settings. As a result, applying Rule 8.5 to international tribunals and international advocacy …

The Sounds Of Silence: Are U.S. Arbitrators Creating Internationally Enforceable Awards When Ordering Class Arbitration In Cases Of Contractual Silence Or Ambiguity, S. I. Strong

Faculty Articles

The Article's overall aim is to determine the international enforceability of international class awards in cases in which the arbitration agreement is silent or ambiguous as to class treatment. Part I therefore describes the current consensus on class arbitration in the United States to lay the groundwork for further discussion. This Part also describes the incidence of class arbitration in other domestic contexts, showing that class arbitration is not as "uniquely American" as opponents have claimed. Part I continues with an overview of international class arbitration to date and identifies the likelihood of international class arbitration's expansion in the future. …

Truth And Consequences: What Should A Mediator Ethically Disclose About Her Mediation Style? How Might A Mediator’S Style Compromise A Mediator’S Neutrality?, Elayne E. Greenberg

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Transparency is fast becoming the buzzword of mediation. Part of that transparency includes the ethical obligation of mediators to disclose in a meaningful and comprehensible way precisely how that mediator will conduct the mediation. Yes, mediation consumers have an ethical right to such information so that they may then make informed decisions about which mediator to select. Isn’t that what the long-held mediation tenets of consent and self-determination are all about? Legitimizing this ethical entitlement, the revised 2005 Model Standards for Mediators guides:

A mediator shall conduct a mediation based on the principle of self-determination. Self-determination is the act …

Determining If Mandatory Arbitration Is “Fair”: Asymmetrically Held Information And The Role Of Mandatory Arbitration In Modulating Uninsurable Contract Risks, Paul B. Marrow

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Look At Domestic Enforcement Of International Tribunal Judgments, Lori Fisler Damrosch

Faculty Scholarship

Problems of compliance with international arbitral and judicial decisions have been with us for as long as such tribunals have existed. In general, the consensual foundations for the jurisdiction of international tribunals have ensured that the parties were in principle willing to have their disputes resolved by the tribunal and thus were usually prepared to carry out the resulting award or judgment. Commentators on international arbitration generally characterize the compliance record as favorable.

Occasions when states refuse to carry out arbitral awards are rare, but when they do occur, states have sometimes asserted the nullity of the award on the …

Promise Of Confidentiality In Mediation: Practitioners' Perceptions, The, T. Noble Foster, Selden Prentice

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In response to these articles, we sought to determine the perceptions of mediation practitioners in our own region, the Seattle/King County area, regarding mediation confidentiality and privilege. This paper presents our finding and addresses the following: (1) the scope of confidentiality and privilege under Washington law; (2) recent Washington case law addressing evidence of mediation communications; (3) a review of Florida's recent legislation - significantly different from Washington law, and unique among state mediation statutes - which provides for sanctions in the event confidentiality is breached; and (4) the perceptions of mediators, attorneys, and judges from the greater Seattle area …

I Lost My Home, Don't Take My Voice: Ensuring The Voting Rights Of The Homeless Through Negotiated Rulemaking, Sarah Devlin

Journal of Dispute Resolution

"The right to vote, as the citizen's link to his laws as government, is protective of all fundamental rights as privileges." This right is often unexercised or taken for granted; but for hundreds of thousands of homeless citizens, voting is a right which is beyond reach. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that on any given night in 2005, more than 754,000 Americans were without a traditional residence--living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or on the streets. While many of those people are only temporarily homeless, many others are being disenfranchised by an electoral system that requires …

Future Of Mediation: A Sociological Perspective, The, Brian Jarrett

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Arguably, these sociological pressures are central to the future direction of the mediation field and, in the aggregate, provide a useful building block in the development of an emerging sociology of mediation-a development that could fill the theory-to-practice gap which currently bedevils the mediation field. Understanding sociological forces reminds us of the constraints within which mediators, as social actors, must work. More importantly, an awareness of these pressures is, conceivably, essential to the development of an autonomous and discernible profession that remains capable of welcoming a diversity of practitioners and their respective approaches. I summarize each of these pressures below …

Immunity And Justice For All: Has The Second Circuit Overextended The Doctrine Of Absolute Immunity By Applying It To Arbitration Witnesses, W. Monroe Bonnheim

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In Rolon v. Henneman, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether absolute immunity should apply to witnesses in an arbitration proceeding. The common law doctrine of absolute immunity from civil liability for judges has a long pedigree dating back to English courts. When the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the doctrine after Congress passed 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Court cautioned against extending the doctrine beyond judges. Since then, however, the doctrine has been extended to prosecutors and witnesses at public trials, and more recently, to arbitrators and arbitral institutions. Whether absolute immunity should be further extended to witnesses …

Expansion Of Arbitral Immunity: Is Absolute Immunity A Foregone Conclusion, The, Jenny Brown

Journal of Dispute Resolution

With the increased use of arbitration in recent years, the concept of judicial immunity has expanded its scope to include arbitrators. As a result, states are currently enacting their own legislation regarding arbitrator immunity and are looking for guidance in how to do so. In response, the National Conference of Commissioners on State Laws has drafted two model acts, referred to as the Uniform Arbitration Act and the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act for states to utilize in formulating their own arbitration laws. Currently the Uniform Arbitration Act has been adopted in thirteen states and is being considered in four other …

What's Fair Is Fair: Tribal Assertions Of Jurisdiction Over Arbitration Decisions, Matthew E. Terry

Journal of Dispute Resolution

While the modem trend is to provide tribes with a certain amount of latitude in some areas, the court in First Specialty Insurance Corp. v. Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon was tasked with shoehorning the facts into the applicable precedent because the various doctrines defining the limits of tribal jurisdiction under the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") have not often been tested, as they were here. The district court's opinion followed the modem trend by upholding the Tribe's assertion of its court system's jurisdiction, yet the court did not establish a precedent that should trouble the notion …

Class Action Arbitration, William H. Baker

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Class action arbitrations are a relatively recent phenomenon in the United States, but the number of such arbitrations is expanding at a rapid rate. As of August 2008, the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") has administered 246 class action arbitrations and Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. ("JAMS"), another major U.S. arbitral institution, has also administered a substantial number of class arbitrations.

Building The Latin America We Want: Supplementing Representative Democracies With Consensus-Building, Mariana Hernández Crespo

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This article is about using consensus-building to create channels for meaningful participation in public decision-making, in order to supplement representative democracies in Latin America. I argue that the addition of a consensus-building mechanism into the legislative process will create the necessary forum for stakeholders to contribute to the framing and resolution of issues of public concern. Furthermore, as Susskind has argued, allowing citizens to participate at the beginning of decision-making processes will make legislative outcomes more legitimate and decrease the level of political dissatisfaction.

Business Courts And The Future Of Arbitration, Christopher R. Drahozal

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This article examines the extent to which competition from business courts is likely to impact the future of arbitration. Part II provides a brief overview of the growth of business courts in recent years. Part III sets out a structural comparison of arbitration with business courts, highlighting the similarities and differences between the two. Part IV provides empirical evidence on the relationship between the availability of business courts and the use of arbitration clauses. Overall, the evidence provides little indication that parties are switching from arbitration to business courts. The evidence is far from definitive, however, and highlights the need …

Arbitration Reform: What We Know And What We Need To Know, Peter B. Rutledge

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

The future of commercial arbitration has become a centerpiece of the domestic congressional agenda. According to one estimate, ten different bills introduced in the 110th Congress would chip away at the enforceability of pre-dispute arbitration agreements. By far the most significant bill, the Arbitration Fairness Act, would retroactively invalidate arbitration agreements in all employment, consumer, securities and franchise contracts. An especially vague provision in a prior version of the bill would invalidate agreements involving claims under statutes intended to protect civil rights or designed to regulate transactions between parties of unequal bargaining power. Are these wise moves?

State Regulation Of Arbitration Proceedings: Judicial Review Of Arbitration Awards By State Courts, Stephen K. Huber

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

The thesis of this Article can be stated simply and concisely: States possess the power to adopt standards for the conduct of arbitration proceedings and review of arbitration awards that are significantly different from federal law standards. The major objective of this Article is to explore the most important possibilities for reform of arbitration law and practice at the state level. State law standards will be of increasing importance in the reformation of arbitration practice. This Article focuses on the standards of review of arbitration awards employed by state courts, because the power to vacate an arbitration award is the …