Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Employment arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques can help employers and employees achieve quicker and more efficient resolutions to employment disputes. Using ADR, especially arbitration, can reduce the burden and expense of litigation while maintaining fairness to all parties.

Ogletree Deakins’ Arbitration/ADR Practice Group assists employers throughout the country and across industries to create, roll out, and enforce employment arbitration agreements and other ADR programs. We advise employers on potential costs and benefits and on effective ways to structure solutions according to each employer’s goals, industry, workforce, and location.

Coast-to-Coast Coverage

Members of the Arbitration/ADR Practice Group are located in our offices around the country. Through our national arbitration practice, Ogletree Deakins’ substantial resources are available to employers of all sizes, from those with a single location to those with widespread, multistate operations. Our attorneys have significant experience addressing unique issues under state and local laws that can affect arbitration, including California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

Custom Arbitration Programs

Ogletree Deakins attorneys work with employers to develop arbitration/ADR programs best suited to their needs. Multijurisdictional employers or those with varied workforces may find that arbitration is more effective for some types of claims or for some portions of their employee populations than for others. Our attorneys routinely work with employers to tailor their existing policies or develop new ones customized to the company’s specific needs and goals. We also advise employers on class action waivers, forum selection clauses, choice-of-law provisions, delegation clauses, and other key terms.

Experience

Our attorneys have experience handling all aspects of employment ADR issues. In particular, Ogletree Deakins has taken a lead role in defending the enforceability of class action waivers in arbitration agreements in several widely influential decisions. Our attorneys also have experience working with the leading providers of ADR services, including JAMS, the American Arbitration Association, and others.

Alerts and Updates

We are committed to providing the resources and information employers need to stay aware of developments affecting their workplaces and businesses. In addition to multiday national seminars and local programs, we alert employers to breaking news and updates through our articles, webinars, podcasts, and newsletters. We also offer a template arbitration package that can generally be used in all 50 states with little to no customization, depending on the employer’s workforce, locations, and preferences. Employment laws, including those related to ADR, are constantly evolving, and we aim to keep employers up to date on changes that may affect them.