ONLINE TOOLS

Q: How is the FORUM similar to a court?
A: The FORUM is similar to a court in terms of its rules and fees. Our fee structure is designed to make our services no more expensive than those of the court system, and our specific rule sets provide disputing parties with a consistent framework within which to resolve their dispute. Under FORUM rules, parties are entitled to have an unbiased, neutral third-party hear their dispute, just as they would in court. Many of the FORUM’s neutrals are, in fact, retired judges.

One of the FORUM’s dispute resolution services, arbitration, is procedurally very similar to court. In a FORUM arbitration, two disputing parties bring their dispute before a legal expert, who renders a decision in favor of one of the parties based on the law and applicable rules. As in court, the parties may request relevant documents and information from the other party (known as discovery), and parties are entitled to the same range of legal remedies and awards that are available to them in court. Arbitration decisions may be either binding, in which case the decision is final, legally enforceable, and has limited grounds for challenge; or they may be non-binding, in which case either party may reject the arbitrator’s decision and opt to litigate (or pursue some other form of ADR) to resolve the dispute.