Litigation law refers to the rules and practices involved in resolving disputes in the court system. The term is often associated with tort cases, but litigation can come about in all kinds of cases, from contested divorces, to eviction proceedings.
You may have encountered an arbitration clause in a contract and wondered what it is and whether you should be happy or upset about this clause. Or a colleague may have suggested to you that you include an arbitration clause in a contract, and you are wondering why this would benefit you.
Arbitration as a process is very different from the process of litigation (trying cases in court), for business disputes.
Use of Attorneys
– Attorneys may represent the parties in an arbitration, but their role is limited; in civil litigation, attorneys spend much time gathering evidence, making motions, and presenting their cases; attorney costs in a litigation can be very high.
Evidence Allowed
– The arbitration process has a limited evidence process, and the arbitrator controls what evidence is allowed, while litigation requires full disclosure of evidence to both parties. The rules of evidence do not apply in arbitration, so there are no subpoenas, no interrogatories, no discovery process.