Arbitration is a legal technique for the private resolution of disputes. Arbitration takes place outside the court system. Arbitration can be binding, like a court order. Arbitration can be non-binding, in that it can later accepted or rejected by the parties. Whether your arbitration is binding or not is up to you.

Although arbitration was originally intended to be used for disputes between commercial parties of similar sophistication and bargaining power, it has increasingly been extended to disputes between parties of greatly disparate bargaining power. Put simply, the parties in binding arbitration give up their right to go to court, but dramatically reduce their costs to find final resolution. These disputes are handled by arbitration providers like Court America. Tom Cauthorn has conducted binding arbitrations in cases as diverse as claims of fraud between competing insurance companies, parties to divorce, wrongful death, and business disputes.