Arbitration
FITCH has represented clients in a wide array of complex litigation cases for over forty years. Litigation has proven to be a fair and effective — and sometimes inevitable — means for resolving serious disputes. However, the costs and uncertainties of litigation and the desire to maintain business relationships, among other factors, have increasingly caused individuals and businesses to choose arbitration as a preferred alternative.
Although parties may choose to voluntarily submit a dispute to arbitration, as opposed to filing suit in court, most commonly the parties find themselves in arbitration because a clause requiring that method of dispute resolution is included in the agreement that governs their relationship, such as in commercial, technology, patent, intellectual property, biotechnology and medical device manufacturing, partnership, limited liability corporation, joint venture, investment, securities, fiduciary, construction, insurance, real estate, employment, and other agreements.
We have found that the cost of arbitration is often less than the cost of litigation in the court system. The relative speed of arbitration and the fact that, generally, discovery in arbitrations is limited are key cost-saving measures. Arbitration may also result in savings because of the participants’ ability to control the scheduling of arbitration proceedings, which enables executives and expert witnesses to plan their schedules accordingly. Last-minute changes and uncertainties in a court-imposed trial date can disrupt the business schedules of executives and experts and ultimately increase the expense and disruption associated with litigation.
Unlike court proceedings, the details of which are often publicly available, arbitrations are confidential and the public has no right to attend or even obtain information about the filings, evidence or outcome of arbitration proceedings.
Parties also elect to use arbitration because of the finality of the procedure. Under both state and federal laws, there are very limited grounds for the setting aside of an arbitral award, known as vacatur. In contrast, the parties’ ability to appeal a decision in a court case is substantially broader. The near-elimination of any appeal right is a factor that, alone, may save years in reaching a final resolution.
Parties to arbitrations also have the ability to influence the selection of the arbitrator who will hear the case. This measure of control gives participants in arbitrations more confidence in the outcome.
The lawyers at FITCH are highly seasoned advocates in arbitrations. The cases with which the firm has been involved include high stakes commercial, business, employment, construction and securities disputes. These arbitrations are conducted under the auspices or rules of the American Arbitration Association, the International Center for Dispute Resolution, or through ad hoc processes.
