In my practice, I have tried cases in court as well as in
arbitration. I am also an arbitrator and have held numerous
hearings as both an individual neutral and as a member of a panel.
I have often discussed with other lawyers whether arbitration or
litigation is the best method for dispute resolution. My experience
and perspective as an advocate and an arbitrator lead me to an
inevitable answer: it depends. The prevailing perception of
arbitration is that it is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than
litigation. This is true, with some caveats.
In my experience as a litigator and an arbitrator, commercial
cases take about nine months from initiation to completion, with
some complex cases taking even longer. Disputes, whether in court
or an arbitral forum, can be financially and sometimes emotionally
taxing, and given the time differential between the two methods of
dispute resolution, the opportunity to minimize this toll by
reducing the length of a case should not
