Arbitration Agreements

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ArbitrationPre-Dispute

Arbitration agreements decide where, how, and under what rules your disputes get resolved, and we draft and negotiate clauses tailored to your deal, your industry, and the fights most likely to actually happen.

An arbitration agreement is one of the most consequential clauses in any contract, because it locks in how a future dispute will be handled long before anyone knows what the dispute is about. We draft and negotiate arbitration clauses that fit your transaction, your counterparty, and the realistic risks in your relationship, so the mechanism works for you when it matters most.

Drafting Clauses That Hold Up

We tailor each arbitration clause to the deal in front of us rather than dropping in boilerplate. We define the scope of covered disputes, select the administering institution, set the seat and governing law, fix the number of arbitrators, and choose the language and any procedural customizations you need. We steer clear of pathological clauses that create ambiguity, stall proceedings, or hand your counterparty an opening to fight over jurisdiction.

Choosing Seat and Rules

The seat of arbitration determines which courts supervise the process and which procedural law applies, and the chosen rules shape everything from discovery to timelines. We walk you through the practical differences between institutions and seats so your selection reflects enforceability, neutrality, and cost, not just familiarity. For technology and IP deals, we pay particular attention to confidentiality, expedited procedures, and how well a forum handles technical evidence.

Negotiating With Your Counterparty

Arbitration terms are negotiable, and the leverage you have at signing rarely returns once a dispute erupts. We help you press for provisions that favor your position, whether that means a faster track, fee-shifting, carve-outs for injunctive relief, or limits on appeals. When the other side pushes back, we explain the trade-offs in plain terms so you can decide which points are worth holding and which you can concede without real exposure.

Frequently asked questions

You need a clear agreement to arbitrate, a defined scope of which disputes it covers, and compliance with any formal requirements that apply. Courts generally lean toward enforcing these agreements, but they can refuse if the agreement is unconscionable or if there was no real mutual agreement to arbitrate.

Cover the essentials: which institution or rules apply, the seat of the arbitration, how many arbitrators, the language, the governing law, and which disputes the clause reaches. You can also add provisions on confidentiality, expedited procedures, and consolidating related cases. A vague clause invites fights before the real dispute even starts.

A broad clause can capture nearly every dispute arising from the relationship, but courts look closely at scope. It is common, and often smart, to carve out certain matters such as requests for injunctions, IP disputes, or small claims so you keep the option of going to court when it makes sense.

The seat sets the procedural law that governs the arbitration, decides which courts can supervise it, and determines the grounds for challenging the award. Picking a seat with a strong pro-arbitration legal framework and an experienced judiciary helps keep the process predictable and the award durable.

Yes. Parties can sign a submission agreement to send an existing dispute to arbitration. But once people are already fighting, agreeing on the terms is usually harder, which is why it is better to put an arbitration clause in the contract up front.

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