Litigation - Arbitration - Agreement                              
                                                                                                  
   What is an arbitration agreement?                                                              
   It is a written contract in which two or more parties agree to use arbitration, instead of the 
   courts, to decide certain disputes. The arbitration agreement is ordinarily a clause in a      
   larger contract. The disputes may be about the performance of a specific contract, a claim of  
   unfair or illegal treatment in the workplace, a faulty product, or just about anything else.   
   People are free to agree to arbitrate just about anything they could litigate.                 
   Who decides whether there is an arbitration agreement?                                         
   Courts decide whether the parties have an agreement to arbitrate, unless the arbitration       
   agreement specifically says that questions about the "arbitrability" of the dispute are to be  
   decided by an arbitrator.                                                                      
   What is a pre-dispute arbitration agreement?                                                   
   Parties frequently decide – when they are writing their contract (and long before any dispute  
   arises) -- that should any disputes relating to the contract develop in the future they will   
   have them decided by arbitration. This decision to arbitrate future disputes is contained in   
   an "arbitration clause" in the agreement. If a dispute arises the parties cannot go to court;  
   they must arbitrate their dispute                                                              
   What is a post-dispute arbitration agreement?                                                  
                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  
   People who have a current dispute may decide that instead of going to court and proceeding     
   with their civil lawsuit they want to settle it by arbitration. Or, people who have gone to    
   court may decide that they want to arbitrate their dispute instead of "dueling it out" in      
   court. In either case, the parties to the dispute sign a written arbitration agreement that    
   says they will arbitrate this specific, existing dispute.