Arbitration Agreements: Make Your Own Rules Of Civil Procedure

Generally, a party in litigation is constrained to follow the applicable State or Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as they navigate through each stage of the case.  One of the perks of arbitration (in addition to the commonly perceived perks of expediency and value) is a party's ability to establish the rules and procedures that will apply to an arbitration proceeding.

The right or obligation to participate in arbitration is usually based upon the existence of an arbitration agreement in which one or both of the parties expressly agree to pursue any claims in arbitration, rather than litigation.  Accordingly, arbitration agreements are simply contracts between the parties.   As a result, parties are commonly allowed, through contractual agreement, to vary the rules and procedures that will apply to the arbitration proceeding.  For instance, the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures (hereinafter the