Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution

Arbitration is chosen for speed and confidentiality, and loses both when the clause was drafted carelessly. A seat that was never specified, an appointment procedure that cannot work, or a scope that does not cover the dispute will send the parties to court before the arbitration has begun.

Before the dispute

We draft and review arbitration clauses with the seat, venue, number of arbitrators, appointment mechanism, language and governing law all settled, and we flag clauses in draft contracts that would not survive a challenge.

During the dispute

We act in proceedings under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act — applications to court for interim protection, applications for the appointment of an arbitrator, the arbitral hearings themselves, and thereafter a challenge to the award or its enforcement.

Mediation

Not every dispute belongs in a hearing. Where a commercial relationship is worth preserving, a mediated settlement recorded properly is enforceable and usually the better commercial answer.