Federal Bar Association and a partner with Montgomery, Barnett
L.L.P. in its New Orleans office. Selected as a Louisiana Super Lawyer
in the area of business litigation, her main areas of practice include
alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation, construction,
fidelity and surety, and business law.
3300 Energy Centre
1100 Poydras Street, Suite 3300
New Orleans, Louisiana 70163
504.585.3200 Phone
504.585.7688 Fax
abelleau@monbar.com
www.monbar.com
for quicker and more economical and
effective alternatives to traditional court
litigation to resolve disputes. This article
will offer some practical tips for one such
alternative -- arbitration.
the arbitration clause is written in the
contract. The drafter should consider the
type of matter and the business industry
when drafting the clause and determine
the "best" venue and forum (American
Arbitration Association, JAMS, private
or local arbitration group) for the arbitra-
tion to take place.
The parties' contract to arbitration
is generally embodied in an arbitration
clause in a more comprehensive contract.
The arbitration clause should include the
basis for, scope and procedure of arbitra-
tion. Also, costs should be considered
when drafting the arbitration clause. For
number of arbitrators. Three arbitrators
will increase the cost and complexity of
the arbitration, but offers the opportunity
to have panelists with different areas of
expertise. However, a small claim may
not merit the cost of three arbitrators. The
arbitration clause could include a term
that if a claim is less than $250,000, there
will only be one arbitrator.
Limiting discovery can control costs.
The limitation of discovery term may
include:
and hours of depositions
requests for production of documents
discovery
include the type of arbitration award to
be rendered; written reasons or decision
only. Awards that contain written reasons
the award on the basis the panel failed to
follow the law. Decision-only awards are
less likely to be challenged.
on potential arbitrators to determine their
background, experience, reputation,
knowledge, effectiveness and tendencies
in handling arbitrations. The first place to
start is to conduct Internet/social media
investigation via LinkedIn, Google, Avvo
and other types of websites. Depending
on the forum, publically rendered
awards may be accessible. A review of
such awards can provide insight on the
arbitrator's experience and tendencies
toward the claimant or respondent in a
particular type of dispute.
Such investigation should include
contacting counsel who has had
arbitrations with the proposed arbitrator.
Such contact can illuminate whether
the potential arbitrator has knowledge
about the law, insight into the rules of the
forum, and whether the arbitrator allows
attorneys to present the case without
Efficient and Cost-Effective Arbitration