Are you searching for an experienced San Diego arbitration attorney?  The Watkins Firm have been resolving business, shareholder, real estate and healthcare related disputes for over four decades.  What is arbitration and why do you need a proven arbitration attorney from the outset of a commercial or healthcare dispute?

Arbitration is one of the alternatives to taking a case to trial in a traditional Court.  Many contracts specify arbitration as an alternative to Court proceedings.  It is interesting to note that most business and healthcare disputes are resolved through effective, leveraged negotiation.

3 Key Points About Business and Healthcare Arbitration:

• Arbitration is a cost-effective alternative to achieve a good outcome while avoiding the time delays, risk, and expense of taking a matter to trial.
• Each arbitrator has the authority to establish the process the arbitration will follow.
• Arbitration is a lot like a trial, but without a lot of the wasted motions, discovery and other legal superlatives that add delay and expense.

Alternatives to Trying a Case in Court

Once negotiations have proven to be unsuccessful, the next step is often to file a lawsuit.  Our Courts are overwhelmed with a backlog of cases and require the parties to attempt to resolve the matter through a settlement conference and/or mediation.  When and if mediation is unsuccessful the next logical alternative to a long and expensive trial is arbitration.  Instead of taking the case to a courtroom, arbitration takes the parties to a conference room.  In place of a Judge, arbitration is ruled by a neutral third party known as an arbitrator.  Negotiation, mediation and arbitration are the three most common alternatives to trying a case in a Court of Law.  Arbitration will provide a resolution, and the ruling of the arbitrator is final in almost every case.  This is why it is important to work with an experienced San Diego arbitration attorney from the Watkins Firm.

The Process of Arbitration

Each arbitrator is in control of the actual process of arbitration and establishes the rules of the road and the process to be followed.  Generally, each side presents the arbitrator with a brief summarizing their perspective on the issue(s) at hand.  The formal rules for discovery, the presentation of evidence and other processes within the Court are not mandated in arbitration.  The arbitrator may allow informal discovery, witness interviews, and the production of relevant documents.  Testimony in an arbitration is taken under oath, very similar to the way you might expect in a Court of Law.  The decision of the arbitrator is final and cannot be appealed except in very rare instances of fraud or collusion on the part of the arbitrator.

Pro-Tip: “Arbitration is a cost-effective, timely alternative when you have an agreement in your contract that says, I’m going to resolve this by arbitration. It’s usually quicker and cheaper, but you waive the right to a jury trial and the arbitrator himself can be very expensive. But in the long run, waiting to go to trial for two and a half years and waiting for a judge who has an overburdened docket can be just as risky. So arbitrations are great. They cut to the chase and you really don’t have a lot of time for dramatics. You have to have accurate law and facts when you go in and it’s usually decided by your arbitration brief because the arbitrator knows when he sees a case that has no merit or has great merit.

So it keeps a lot of the extraneous legal stuff out of the way and focuses the matter to a head.  And generally it keeps crazy verdicts from happening because if you win, you’re going to get something reasonable. And if you lose, it’s going to be something reasonable. Their goal is to try to be reasonable. (Arbitrators have) seen crazy jury verdicts their whole life from time to time. And so, and they know the law on the facts. So normally I would expect, you know, a very reasonable sound fair resolution when I go to an arbitrator.

You can only appeal the decision of the arbitrator under extreme circumstances. But I would just like to say, in the vast majority of arbitrations, no, you cannot appeal. Don’t try. You knew you’re getting into when you went in, this is it. The arbitrator makes a decision. The decision is final. There’s no appeal. And unlike a trial, it’s just over. Maybe one time in almost 40 years, we’ve had a situation where we had a specially selected arbitrator with, you know, questionable credentials in a contract where we had to fight it. But for the most part, when you go under that arbitrator, you should know they’re experienced and they have to make tough decisions.

Ultimately, from the outset, we prepare every case as if it’s going to trial. And sometimes arbitration is actually the best venue for our clients to achieve their goals. Because we start with a thorough, well-documented chronology, a mastery of available damages, and all of our philosophies on how to prepare a case, we’re ready to go to trial. And we’ve tried lots of cases. If it’s a trial, we really enjoy jury trials. If it’s an arbitration, we’ve been around so long, we’re comfortable with the arbitrators.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

Why Do You Need an Experienced San Diego Arbitration Attorney

The process of arbitration is a legal process that will affect your legal rights as well as civil (read: financial) exposure.  There is very rarely an opportunity to appeal an arbitration, so you want to put your best foot forward and make the strongest case possible.  You have one chance to do so and the attorneys at the Watkins Firm have more than four decades of successful experience in San Diego business, real estate, shareholder and healthcare arbitration.  Generally speaking the arbitrator is agreed upon by the parties and the Watkins Firm provides sound counsel to our clients during this process.  Our attorneys do extensive research and investigation to master the facts and potential damages, gather evidence, prepare clients for witness testimony, negotiate the ground rules of the arbitration, cross-examine adversarial witnesses and present sound arguments to achieve the best possible outcome in arbitration.

An experienced San Diego arbitration attorney from the Watkins Firm works to manage the arbitration process, guide our client(s) and present the strongest possible case to the arbitrator.  We invite you to review our podcast Episode 12: Resolving Business Disputes Part 2: Arbitration and Trial, as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.