
Renowned MDL Federal Judge Eduardo C. Robreno joins FedArb





The very reason for mediation is that the parties are in dispute, whether it a broken business contract, frustrated joint venture partners, a terminated executive, a securities class action, insurance counterparties or mass tort claims. My job as a mediator is to search for and bring the parties to a solution. Everything I do from… Read more »

The Aug. 18 Grupo Unidos por el Canal SA v. Autoridad del Canal de Panamá decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is an important decision for international arbitrators and practitioners in several respects, including some unusual procedural twists and a surprising substantive conclusion that should not go unnoticed. The ruling… Read more »


Joint Sessions Are Valuable; How to Conduct Them. Many mediators and counsel discourage the use of joint sessions in mediation. Counsel often believe that having the parties together in the same room (either physically or virtually) will exacerbate the tensions already present in the litigation and hinder resolution. Mediators often believe, with some justification, that… Read more »

Arbitrator selection is a critical component of every arbitration proceeding given that the selection will determine who will adjudicate the dispute. Commercial arbitration is a creature of contract. The parties in their contract provide for the governing arbitral organization and rules, if any, and how the arbitrator or arbitrators are to be selected. The parties,… Read more »

On July 19, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission announced proposed revised merger guidelines. Immediately, negative critique appeared in the legal and business press, despite the fact that it is highly unlikely these draft guidelines will be substantively changed for political reasons. The proposed guidelines list 13 factors that alone or in combination… Read more »


The tribes claim Gov. Gavin Newson violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in negotiations over reviewing their casino gaming compacts. Four tribes and the state of California have agreed to allow former Arizona Chief Justice W. Scott Bales to mediate their long-running disputes over renewing gaming compacts. Bales served two years as Arizona’s solicitor general… Read more »


Contact the author As many readers may know, the SEC has been engaged in rule-making on various cybersecurity issues intended to modernize its existing regulations and keep in line with emerging privacy and data security risks and norms. If adopted, it is likely that recently-covered entities will materially increase the compliance burdens on SEC-regulated entities… Read more »










