Originally from American Review of International Arbitration - ARIA

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INTRODUCTION
Despite the proliferation of articles, books, and courses in international
litigation and arbitration, it is far more frequently the case that American lawyers
are confronted with domestic arbitration disputes, geographically confined within
the United States. Nevertheless, “international” aspects do creep into such cases,
such as the involvement of a foreign party, the application of the arbitral rules of
the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration1 or
the appointment of a foreign arbitrator. The second, and substantially expanded,
edition of Professor Thomas E. Carbonneau’s textbook seeks to educate the public
and legal profession about the “arbitral process under United States law,” both
domestic and international.2
A trove of arbitration jewels is found in Professor Carbonneau’s book. The
clause-by-clause and case-by-case examination of the Federal Arbitration Act3 and
its evolution is a valuable resource for students, practitioners and academics.4 The
survey of maritime, securities, consumer, labor, and employment arbitration
provides a concise introduction to the predominant forms of domestic arbitration.5
Also included is a unique discussion of bias in “triangular” arbitration
arrangements6 and a surprisingly thorough analysis of the English Arbitration Act
1996.7 Finally, a chapter of “special issues” includes both well-known topics such
as the theoretical underpinnings of arbitration ideology, confidentiality, and
interim measures as well as the more nuanced topics of multi-state arbitration
practice, the relationship between the explicit text of arbitration agreements and