Because many arbitrations take place in accordance with institutional rules referred to in the arbitration agreement or agreed to by the parties, you are likely to have rules governing discovery in your proceeding. Together, the arbitration rules and the arbitration agreement go a long way toward defining what discovery is possible. Rules and agreements, however, can only affect the parties' rights with regard to each other, not concerning third parties. Third parties may resist your discovery requests on other grounds. The act applies to any arbitration involving a transaction in interstate commerce.
Many states also have their own arbitration statutes.
FAA Section 7 expressly provides arbitrators with the authority to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents at an arbitration hearing. The primary authority to the contrary is found in two recent opinions by the Fourth Circuit. There is a substantial body of somewhat analogous case law interpreting the term in the context of discovery of trial preparation materials under Fed. Other cases, which do not articulate a clear definition of substantial need, nevertheless examine the degree of relevance of the materials and the importance of the issue to which they relate. These cases also impose a higher level of scrutiny on requests for work product that reflects the thoughts and the impressions of counsel.