David Saxe Explores the Next Wave in Dispute Resolution - Med-Arb

As court systems continue resumption of services following the lifting of certain restrictions put in place at the height of the pandemic, the opportunity for dispute resolution remains an attractive alternative for disputants who have been unable to gain traction with litigation in part because of the court closures earlier this year.  The Med-Arb process, a marrying of two established conflict processes—mediation and arbitration—may help to alleviate the pressure on the alternative dispute resolution providers to handle what could be a dramatic increase in volume in the coming months.

In an article published by the New York Law Journal on November 20, 2020 entitled, “Med-Arb: Is It the Wave of the Future?,” the Hon. David B. Saxe, (ret.) explores the benefits and pitfalls of Med-Arb, a procedure that involves parties to mutually agree to mediate a dispute with an understanding that if the dispute is not resolved at the mediation stage, the dispute will proceed to binding arbitration with the same third-party who has served as mediator, serving as the arbitrator.