Arbitration isn't always the best option

Recently my client showed me her standard form customer agreement which required that all disputes be resolved by mandatory arbitration. This is very common in contracts. Unfortunately, she got a taste of arbitration last year and she was frustrated because she found arbitration to be just as expensive and time-consuming as litigation. Arbitration is not always a practical way to handle every type of dispute. I revised her contract to add more flexibility, with negotiation and mediation for some types of minor disputes, resorting to arbitration only for the most important issues. I also changed it to minimize the expense of any future arbitration. I don't know about you, but I hate surprises in business. Have you ever had a project take longer than expected? A contract is a great tool to build in more predictability.