Originally from:

Journal of American Arbitration (JAA) - Vol. 5, No. 2

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ARTICLES

California’s New Ethics Standards: A Hot Bed
of Controversy and Conflicting Decisions
By Rebecca Callahan

I. INTRODUCTION
As a general rule, the arbitrator appointed to hear a given matter is
required to disclose conflicts of interest to ensure the fairness and
integrity of the process by rendering an objective and impartial decision.
Heretofore, a “rule of reasonableness” governed conflicts of interest
disclosure, meaning that the arbitrator had a duty to use reasonable
efforts to conduct a reasonable inquiry regarding conflicts of interest and
to make disclosures to the parties regarding the same.1 This was a
relatively subjective standard that most certainly varied on a case-bycase
and arbitrator-by-arbitrator basis and is no longer the rule in
California.
Until recently, private arbitration2 primarily involved repeat players