Arbitration—the out-of-court resolution of a dispute between parties to a contract, decided by an impartial third party (the arbitrator)—is faster and more cost effective than litigation.

AAA cases are often settled prior to the arbitrator’s decision—and nearly half of those cases incur no arbitrator compensation.

Privacy Protection of Party and Case Information

The AAA has implemented best practices, policies, technologies, and procedures to help protect case data stored and managed on the AAA’s technology infrastructure.

Court- and Time-Tested Rules

AAA Rules, court- and time-tested, cover the spectrum of industries and fields. Well-defined steps move cases from filing to award as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, while ensuring that all parties are treated fairly and equitably.

Vetted National Roster of Arbitrators

AAA panels comprise distinguished judges as well as leaders in the legal and business communities with industry-specific knowledge and expertise. Arbitrators are required to adhere to Codes of Ethics developed by the AAA and the American Bar Association (ABA). Select Expert Panels include Aerospace, Aviation, and National Security; Construction, Cybersecurity, Employment, Energy, Healthcare, Intellectual Property, Judicial, Labor, and Large and Complex Cases.

Transparent Standard and Flexible Fee Schedules

AAA fees, easily available online, are due at specific times and are not tied to the length of the case or the arbitrators’ compensation.

Executive Facilitation of Large B2B Cases

High-level AAA executives oversee the case administration for large and complex business-to-business (B2B) cases. These cases range from breach of contract or licensing agreements, business torts, and franchise to construction and infrastructure disputes in companies from start-ups to the Fortune 500 in a variety of industries.

AAA Procedures for Large Commercial Disputes and AAA Procedures for Large Construction Disputes specially target these cases.

The AAA Roster of Arbitrators for Large and Complex Cases possesses specialized qualifications in addition to those required for membership on the AAA Panel, already among the most stringent in the ADR sector. Custom panels are the Panel of Large Commercial Cases, the Construction Mega Project Panel, Judicial Panel, and the Mediator Panel.

Non-Binding Arbitration

Non-binding arbitration provides the procedural processes of standard arbitration--but with an informal hearing on the dispute’s merits and without the finality of a binding decision. Non-binding arbitration can be valuable for less complex business-to-business and business-to-consumer disputes where the parties may be too far apart in their viewpoints to mediate or are in need of an evaluation of their respective positions.