A contractual arbitration clause is one of the most powerful ways that a business has to try to control its exposure to costly and dangerous lawsuits. By the careful use of an arbitration or other ADR clause in its contracts, a business can dramatically affect how disputes with its employees, customers, vendors, and others with whom it does business are resolved, discourage claims from being brought, and limit its exposure to large damage awards. On the other hand, an arbitration clause that is carelessly drafted or slanted in favor of the other party to an agreement can be a serious disadvantage in the event of a dispute. When parties agree to arbitration, they make a binding determination that some or all of their disputes will be resolved outside of court by one or more persons called arbitrators, rather than in court by a judge or jury. In recent years, courts have allowed the contracting parties broad discretion to make up any rules they wish concerning who will hear the dispute and what rules will govern the outcome.
Arbitration clauses can specify simplified procedures both before and trial.
For example, they can limit or eliminate the depositions, interrogatories, document requests, and pretrial motions that are responsible for much of the sometimes crushing expense of litigation. The procedures at the arbitration hearing, which takes the place of a trial in court, can be simpler and less time consuming than those for a jury trial. Arbitration clauses can also set short mandatory schedules for resolution of a problem before both the problem and the business involved in it become ancient history. In addition to reducing litigation expenses and speeding the resolution of disputes, arbitration clauses can discourage or prevent claims from being made in the first place. For example, a contract can provide that claims that are not brought by certain deadlines are barred altogether.