How will the 2020 elections impact arbitration law? That question was the subject of a provocative panel at the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Dispute Resolution's Annual Spring Conference featuring Professor Brian Farkas. Click here to read more. 

Entitled, "Arbitration on the Ballot: The 2020 Election and Beyond," the program was presented virtually on May 21, 2020 to a live audience of Conference attendees around the world.  Farkas, who teaches arbitration and dispute resolution at Cardozo, spoke alongside two of the nation's leading experts on arbitration law: Professor Stephen Ware (University of Kansas School of Law) and Professor Maureen Weston (Pepperdine University School of Law). 

The two major political parties have adopted radically different approaches to arbitration. Reforms to "mandatory" arbitration has even become a campaign talking point for some Democratic candidates, particularly in the wake of the #MeToo Movement. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump -- perhaps more than any prior president -- understands and supports arbitration, having employed it throughout his prior career in real estate, construction, and media.

Farkas, Ware, and Weston began by discussing the politics of arbitration from a historical perspective. They also reviewed current law under the Federal Arbitration Act, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past several decades. The panelists then outlined various proposals for reform by (mostly) Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress, as well as objections to those proposals. Finally, they offered predictions on the likelihood of significant reforms if control of the White House or Congress changes hands. "Arbitration law is probably not at top of mind for the vast, vast majority of voters this November," Farkas joked. "But procedural law is incredibly important to determining how disputes in this country are resolved. Arbitration rarely gets much attention in national campaigns. Hopefully, this program shed some light on the policies and the politics of this evolving area of law."