This thoroughly updated Fourth Edition, largely by a new co-author, discusses arbitration law and practice clearly and reliably, with engaging context ranging from partisan political battles to a Justin Bieber tweet. Balanced and comprehensive, the book covers major types of arbitration in the United States—commercial (including securities and trade associations), labor, employment, consumer, insurance, medical, and religious—as well as important types of international arbitration, such as commercial, maritime, investment, and sports. A carefully constructed teaching tool, Arbitration intersperses contemporary disputes—involving Uber’s app, Donald Trump’s confidentiality agreement, Jay-Z’s impact on arbitrator diversity, and the relationship between gender and biology—among:

  • All the major Supreme Court cases from 1953 through 2019;
  • Current case law on evolving topics, such as delegation clauses, contracts formed by clicking links on cell phones, and substitutes for the class actions limited by Concepcion;
  • The full text of the Federal Arbitration Act, New York Convention, and Panama Convention;
  • Chapters divided into short, coherent sections suitable for a single class session; and
  • “Questions to Review and Synthesize” after the reading for each class session.

The Teacher’s Manual includes a sample syllabus, suggestions for skill-building exercises, and other resources to facilitate teaching from this book.


Imprint: Foundation Press
Series: Coursebook
Publication Date: 01/13/2020
Related Subject(s): Dispute Resolution

Stephen J. Ware, University of Kansas School of Law

Alan Scott Rau, University of Texas School of Law

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This Arbitration book, last published in 2006, has been substantially rewritten. Among the many changes since the last edition are the addition of excerpts from the following sources, as well accompanying text written by the book’s authors.

Christopher R. Drahozal & Stephen J. Ware, Why Do Businesses Use (or Not Use) Arbitration Clauses?
25 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 433, 451–52 (2010).

Idea Nuova, Inc. v. GM Licensing Group, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2010. 617 F.3d 177

William A. Birdthistle & M. Todd Henderson, Becoming A Fifth Branch
99 Cornell L. Rev. 1, 13–15 (2013).

Stephen J. Ware, What Makes Securities Arbitration Different from Other Consumer and Employment Arbitration?
76 U. Cin. L. Rev. 447, 448–52 (2008).

Barbara Black & Jill I. Gross, Investor Protection Meets the Federal Arbitration Act
1 Stan. J. Complex Litig. 1–14, 26–27 (2012).

Teresa J. Verges, Opening the Floodgates of Small Customer Claims in FINRA Arbitration: FINRA v. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
15 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 623, 639–40 (2014).

Jill Gross, The Customer’s Nonwaivable Right to Choose Arbitration in the Securities Industry
10 Brook J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L. 384, 384–87 (2016).

Farnsworth v. Towboat Nantucket Sound, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 2015. 790 F.3d 90.

Caster Semenya, Athletics South Africa (ASA) v. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
Court of Arbitration for Sport. 30 April 2019.

Mark D. Gough, The High Costs of an Inexpensive Forum: An Empirical Analysis of Employment Discrimination Claims Heard in Arbitration and Civil Litigation
35 Berkeley J. Emp. & Lab. L. 91, 94, 95–96, 96–103, 112 (2014).

Stephen J. Ware, The Centrist Case for Enforcing Adhesive Arbitration Agreements
23 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 29, 69–72 (2017).

Cynthia Estlund, The Black Hole of Mandatory Arbitration
96 N.C. L. Rev. 679, 679, 680–82, 682–83, 684–86, 687, 688, 688–89, 689–91, 691–92, 692, 699–700 (2018).

Jeff Sovern, Elayne E. Greenberg, Paul F. Kirgis & Yuxiang Liu, “Whimsy Little Contracts” With Unexpected Consequences: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Understanding of Arbitration Agreements
75 Md. L. Rev. 1, 11–14 (2015).

David Allen Larson & Dr. David Dahl, Medical Malpractice Arbitration: Not Business As Usual
8 Y.B. On Arb. & Mediation 69, 69–71, 79–83, 85–87, 93 (2016).

Alan B. Morrison, Can Mandatory Medical Malpractice Claims be Fair? The Kaiser Permanente System
70 Disp. Resol. J. 35, 35–39, 40–41, 43, 45–54, 59 (2015).

Mark L. Movsesian, Fiqh and Canons: Reflections on Islamic and Christian Jurisprudence
40 Seton Hall L. Rev. 861, 879–84 (2010).

Michael A. Helfand, Religious Arbitration and the New Multiculturalism: Negotiating Conflicting Legal Orders
86 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1231, 1237–42, 1243–47, 1253–55, 1265–66 (2011).

Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld & Frank J. Costa, Jr., The Reverse-Entanglement Principle: Why Religious Arbitration of Federal Rights Is Unconstitutional
128 Yale L.J. 2087, 2094–99 (2019).

14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett
Supreme Court of the United States, 2009. 556 U.S. 247, 129 S.Ct. 1456, 173 L.Ed.2d 398.

Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis
Supreme Court of the United States, 2018. 138 S.Ct. 1612, 200 L.Ed.2d 889, 211 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3061.

Stephen J. Ware, A Short Defense of Southland, Casarotto, and Other Long-Controversial Arbitration Decisions
30 Loyola Consumer L. Rev. 303, 310–15 (2018).

AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion
Supreme Court of the United States, 2011. 563 U.S. 333, 131 S.Ct. 1740, 179 L.Ed.2d 742.

Vaden v. Discover Bank
Supreme Court of the United States, 2009. 556 U.S. 49, 129 S.Ct. 1262, 173 L.Ed.2d 206.

Citizens of Humanity LLC v. Applied Underwriters, Inc.
Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 2, California, 2017. 17 Cal.App.5th 806, 226 Cal.Rptr.3d 1, 17 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 11,240, 2017 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,135.

Cullinane v. Uber Technologies, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit, 2018. 893 F.3d 53.

Meyer v. Uber Techs., Inc.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2017. 868 F.3d 66.

Rent-A-Center, W., Inc. v. Jackson
Supreme Court of the United States, 2010. 561 U.S. 63, 130 S.Ct. 2772, 177 L.Ed.2d 403.

David Horton, Arbitration About Arbitration
70 Stan. L. Rev. 363, 394–99, 440–41 (2018).

Bowles v. OneMain Financial Group, L.L.C.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 2019. 927 F.3d 878.

State ex rel. Pinkerton v. Fahnestock
Supreme Court of Missouri, en banc., 2017. 531 S.W.3d 36, 349 Ed. Law Rep. 827.

Rent-A-Center, Inc. v. Ellis
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, 2019. 827 S.E.2d 605.

Hall St. Assocs., L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc.
Supreme Court of the United States, 2008. 552 U.S. 576, 128 S.Ct. 1396, 170 L.Ed.2d 254.

James A. Fanto, Jill I. Gross & Norman S. Poser, Broker-Dealer Law and Regulation
§ 23.0.4[B] (5th ed. 2018).

Merrick T. Rossein & Jennifer Hope, Disclosure and Disqualification Standards for Neutral Arbitrators: How Far to Cast the Net and What Is Sufficient to Vacate Award
81 St. John’s L. Rev. 203, 235–40 (2007).

Thomas J. Stipanowich, Arbitration: The “New Litigation”
2010 U. Ill. L. Rev. 1, 8–9, 12–15, 19–20, 22–23 (2010).

Arthur Anderson LLP v. Carlisle
Supreme Court of the United States, 2009. 556 U.S. 624, 129 S.Ct.1896, 173 L.Ed.2d 832.

Freaner v. Valle
United States District Court, Southern District of California, 2013. 966 F.Supp.2d 1068.

Margaret L. Moses, The Principles and Practice of International Commercial Arbitration
46–47, 50–52 (3d ed. 2017).

Eric S. Sherby, A Checklist for Drafting an International Arbitration Clause
2010 Bus. L. Today 1, 2 (2010).

Claudia T. Salomon and J.P. Duffy, Enforcement Begins when the Arbitration Clause is Drafted
22 Am. Rev. Int’l Arb. 271, 274–75 (2011).

BG Group PLC v. Republic of Argentina
Supreme Court of the United States, 2014. 572 U.S. 25, 134 S.Ct. 1198, 188 L.Ed.2d 220.

Delaware Coalition for Open Government, Inc. v. Strine
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2013. 733 F.3d 510, 41 Media L. Rep. 2685.

West Virginia Investment Management Board v. Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, 2018. 241 W.Va. 148, 820 S.E.2d 416, 2018 Employee Benefits Cas. 198, 043.

Jersey Cent. Power & Light Co. v. Melcar Utility Co.
Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2013. 59 A.3d 561, 212 N.J. 576.

Biotechpharma, LLC, et al. v. Ludwig & Robinson, PLLC
District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 2014. 98 A.3d 986.

Learn more about this series.