Arbitration has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional litigation.
This course is taught using a national casebook supplemented with relevant New Mexico case law and statutes. The focus is on domestic rather than international arbitration and voluntary arbitration rather than arbitration compelled by statute.
After a view of the content and relationship of the federal and state arbitration statutes, the course deals with the functional differences between arbitration and litigation, the drafting of arbitration clauses, the enforcement of agreements to arbitrate, the arbitration process, and the scope and limits of judicial review of arbitrator’s awards.
At the completion of the course, students will have a firm grasp of the benefits and detriments of arbitration so that they can make sound decisions about whether to agree to arbitration instead of traditional litigation. They also will have an understanding of the tactics and strategy involved in arbitrating disputes successfully.
This course is designed for students who will engage in transactional lawyering (drafting contracts, for example) as well as for those who will represent clients before arbitrators. It is not designed to teach persons how to be arbitrators.