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Arbitration penny wise and pound foolish?
July 13, 2006 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo

Interesting article in Law.com's In-House Counsel: Arbitration's Fall From Grace (07/13/2006).

It's full of quotes from in-house lawyers, giving their views on arbitration - the good, the bad, the ugly.

Some choice quotes:

• After a customer sued a company, "Our company ended up investing more than a year's worth of time and substantial legal fees simply to enforce in court our right not to have to go to court."
• "All too often you end up with a mini-trial which is as expensive as litigation but without any appeal rights."
• Arbitrators tend to split their decisions.
• "In a place like California that is very litigious, it is better to go to arbitration rather than spend half your life in court."
• "Over the last 10 years, we have built up considerable experience in arbitration disputes, and there is no question in my mind that it is preferable to litigation."
• "The truth is that arbitration is not a panacea, and it is not for every company." But I do think that the factors that made arbitration favorable to certain companies do remain, and companies should continue to take a look at whether it works for them."

So how about mediation instead?

• "Most lawyers will tell you today that mediation is one of the most fantastic things to come along."

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