Other parties named in the demand are notified and replies are requested. The arbitrator is selected by the parties 4. A hearing date and location convenient to the parties and to the arbitrator is arranged. At the hearing, testimony and documents are submitted to the arbitrator, and witnesses are questioned and cross-examined. The arbitrator then issues a binding award, copies of which are sent to the parties.
Arbitration is less formal than litigation, and mediation is even less formal than arbitration.
Unlike an arbitrator, a mediator does not have the power to render a binding decision. A mediator does not hold evidentiary hearings as in arbitration but conducts informal joint and separate meetings with the parties to understand the issues facts and positions of the parties. The separate meetings are known as caucuses. In contrast, arbitrators hear testimony and receive evidence in a joint hearing based on which they render a final and binding decision, known as an award.