Of course not all cases are simple. Some involve multiple viewpoints and even multiple buyers. "It could be a multi party issue. It could be an issue that may involve testimony. For example, if I bought your X-ray machine and you said on DOTmed it had certain features and years of use and then when I received it, it didn't have exactly what was stated. One side said yes it does. The other side said no it doesn't," Coffman described as a hypothetical controversy. "You need an expert witness on X-ray machines. We would make sure you had a neutral [as arbitrators are called] that would understand the dispute type. Maybe we would need a health care or medical equipment expert."

The AAA also has an international arm, the International Center for Dispute Resolution. "International cases may have other nuances such as locale issues and ways in which the process will proceed given language issues and other locale disagreements that might arise," Coffman said. (For complete information on international mediation and arbitration, go here.)


AAA has been around since 1926 and has established, time-tested and court-tested rules for business-to-business disputes (as well as many other types of conflicts it mediates). A key element of the attractiveness of arbitration is that it levels the playing field for the little guy.

"One of the things that is so important from an arbitration perspective, as opposed to going to the courts, is you manage the process--you are a party to the process. You can write in any clause or you can agree with the other party. If you want this to be over in a month, we will accommodate that," Coffman said. You can also select the arbitrators, and select subject matter experts from an approved list. "You're actually selecting your decision-makers as opposed to the court where you wouldn't have the opportunity."

You can also manage your costs better because you dictate the amount of discovery, or the amount of evidence you would be sharing, the length of the case and how involved it will be. Another advantage of arbitration over the courts is that ADR is confidential.

Here are some tips from the experts at AAA to save time and money in the ADR process if your case is relatively straight forward:

- Choose one arbitrator instead of three. The American Arbitration Association lists more than 7,000 trained, commercial neutrals to hear arbitrations and mediations. In addition, special panels of subject-matter experts have been developed including a health care panel that includes health care attorneys, physicians and medical specialists, and other health care professionals.

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