By: Lance K. Tanaka, Vice President, AAA Commercial Division and Sports Arbitration Practice
Brand and reputation are everything in professional and scholastic athletics. No sports organizations, individual athletes, or coaches want their dirty laundry aired in a public courtroom, where the media can pick it up and broadcast to the entire world.
As in other industries, legal disputes inevitably arise in sports. However, since fan support is key to their survival, negative media coverage stemming from a legal dispute is potentially more devastating to leagues, teams,
By:Neil Carmichael, M.A., Vice President, Education, Educational Services, AAA
Simply hanging out the proverbial shingle is not sufficient to qualify one as an arbitrator. Arbitrators must possess the qualities, knowledge, and skills to deliver the benefits of arbitration—speed, economy, and justice—and to instill in parties the confidence that they can capably do so.
In other words, a great arbitrator is schooled in both the “science” and the “art” of arbitration.
Great arbitrators are educated to handle the more straightforward parts of the case.
A well-constructed dispute resolution clause is the foundation of a cost-effective and efficient dispute resolution process. Yet courts regularly are faced with arbitration clauses that are problematic in some respect.
Inserting an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) clause in their contracts allows parties to customize the dispute resolution to their individual circumstances. Since arbitration is a creature of contract, parties must be very clear concerning the process they have elected to utilize to resolve potential disputes.
The Four Musts of a