Miller Law Offices Arbitration has prosecuted and defended many claims in arbitration.  Indeed, Jeffrey Miller serves on the panel of arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association.

Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution forum. Instead of using the court system, the parties agree to have their case decided by an impartial arbitrator who acts as judge and jury (but not executioner). The general rule is that absent an agreement to arbitrate or a statute (law) compelling arbitration, a party cannot be forced to arbitrate a dispute. Construction agreements and broker commission agreements are among the types of agreements that often contain enforceable arbitration clauses.

Arbitration is a private enterprise.  As a result, no public record is produced, something that many litigants find particularly comforting.  The flip side of the private nature of arbitration is that to be enforceable, an arbitration award must be ‘confirmed’ by a court, thereby rendering it a judgment.  Another consequence of the private character of arbitration is that the parties must pay the arbitrator and the sponsoring organization, unlike the court system where parties are strongly discouraged from paying a judge or jury. 

Despite the administrative costs, arbitration is usually more cost effective than litigation because the process is much more informal.  This is especially true with regards to discovery and conferences.  Arbitration also tends to produce results much quicker than the slower-paced court system.   Finally, a party’s right to appeal an arbitration award is much more limited than a litigant’s right to appeal an adverse decision of a Judge.  Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is case-specific and can only be determined with 20-20 hindsight, after the award has been rendered.

Transactional Law includes contract drafting and negotiations, real estate transactions (commercial and residential) and general corporate law.  In the corporate arena, we help clients with incorporation and we prepare customized operating agreements, partnership agreements, and by-laws. We also help clients understand and navigate their rights, obligations and remedies in connection with hiring and terminating employees. We have represented buyers and sellers of many different kinds of businesses, each with its own unique and varied concerns.

Miller Law Offices, PLLC provides legal advice and professional services in connection with transactional legal work. Transactional law is varied and complex, and even in the best of circumstances, transactional work can be a minefield with unanticipated consequences. Agreements are generally not “iron clad”; even well crafted contracts can wind up in litigation.

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