The Pros and Cons of Arbitration Agreements

William J. Wenzel, Connecticut Superior Court Judge (Ret.), a member of Pullman & Comley's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) team,  authored an article for New Haven Biz offering guidance to business owners on the use of arbitration clauses in business agreements as an option to resolve future disputes or claims that may arise in new relationships.

"While most business transactions never come to a dispute, and many of the ones that do will be resolved by good faith discussion between the parties, it is not unusual to have agreements define how a future dispute will be resolved," he writes.

"Arbitration clauses appear in many forms of agreements, from hand-crafted contracts specifically drawn for a new project or venture to the simplest of agreement/forms where little, if any, thought is given to what will happen when things go wrong," says Judge Wenzel.

He goes on to cover some of the considerations that should be reviewed regarding how the proposed dispute resolution mechanism will work under certain circumstances.

"The bottom line is to never simply assume an arbitration clause is the best solution." he says.  "Consider what kinds of disputes might arise in the business transaction and whether the proposed arbitration will be the best way to resolve them."

To read the full article on the New Haven Biz site, please visit: https://www.newhavenbiz.com/article/the-pros-and-cons-of-arbitration-agreements.