Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Arbitration is a creature of contract, making it prone to change. The touchstone for a successful arbitration is careful drafting of the arbitration clause, according to authors Scott Marrs and Sean Milligan. They pose 10 critical questions that will help drafters of arbitration agreements, parties counsel and arbitrators understand recent developments in arbitration.

Parties increasingly turn to arbitration for the resolution of business disputes—with positive results, including less adversarial relationships, faster decisions and lower dispute resolution costs. But because arbitration is a creature of contract, the process the disputants get, and their satisfaction with it, turn largely on the arbitration clause itself. Whether their pursuit of an efficient and cost-effective arbitration is successful will depend in part on how carefully the arbitration agreement is negotiated and drafted, and on the arbitration experience and managerial abilities of the arbitrator the parties select to decide their case. Using a “form” arbitration clause borrowed from another contract may not be as safe as you thought. The appropriate arbitration language will often depend on the circumstances and how the courts have recently interpreted and applied arbitration provisions, laws and rules. This article summarizes recent court decisions on 10 important arbitration issues, including: