Partner Michael Paisner Authors PLI Article - In Praise of Americanization—Solutions to What Ails International Arbitration

International commercial arbitration has long been touted as the most efficient method of dispute resolution for cross-border business disputes. 

Yet the history of complaints about the lack of efficiency and speed in the international arbitration process is just as long. Businesses and commentators have routinely and for decades criticized the process as too slow and expensive and as sharing many of the downsides of litigation in formal court systems. The criticisms often take the form of laments about the “Americanization” of international arbitration—a term that, in the world of international arbitration (as in so many other global arenas these days), is rarely intended as a compliment. But this article (pace Marc Antony) comes to praise Americanization (at least partially), not to bury it. And that is because several aspects of the American litigation system could serve as useful models in helping international arbitration reach its full potential as a better, faster, and more efficient alternative for cross-border business dispute resolution.