Arbitration plays a key role in providing parties with an efficient forum for resolving disputes, especially as courts face significant resource constraints. An uptick in mass arbitrations seeking to leverage arbitration administrative fees to coerce settlements untethered to the legitimacy of any claims, however, disrupts this system. Such tactics threaten the integrity of alternative dispute resolution and cause harm to businesses, consumers, employees, and arbitration providers tasked with overseeing a fair process.
Michael McTigue and Meredith Slawe led a team that prepared a comprehensive report, “Private Power, Public Harm: The Coercive Dynamics of Mass Arbitration,” addressing the mass arbitration landscape and the need for scrutiny and reform, on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform.