The American Arbitration Association (AAA) is a non-profit organization that has offices throughout the United States. The organization has a long history and for many years it has been working in the area of alternative dispute resolution for those customers, who want to find resolutions without involvement of court. It was established in 1996 and nowadays it functions in 80 countries by providing services in 12 languages. The Association has International Centre for Dispute Resolution, which serves for administering different cases from filling to closing both in the United States and abroad. The AAA provides the following services to customers: to arrange appointments with arbitrators and mediators, to set hearings and provide clients with necessary information on different resolution options including mediation. A general purpose and mission of the AAA is to resolve cases in an impartial and fair manner until they are completed. The organization has also additional services including training, education and publications for those, who want to understand better, what alternative dispute resolution is and why it is needed. The customers of the AAA are unions, law firms, courts, corporations and etc.
The AAA has both pros and cons. In terms of the benefits, people prefer to make use of the AAA’s services because it is more peaceful way to resolve an issue. Both parties involved in the case are encouraged in full participation and are motivated to work together in a peaceful manner in order to resolve the issue as fast as possible without hostility and angst toward one another. Moreover, the AAA gives an opportunity for a more flexible schedule, even during weekends and evening, which is not possible with trials in courts because of overcrowded calendars. The third benefit is that the AAA keeps cases confidential and they are not open to public. However, despite the benefits, there are also some disadvantages of using services of this organization. The first and the main one is the costs. Arbitration procedures are usually quite expensive. Unlike nominal court fees, arbitration also entails arbitrators’ fees and substantial filing. Thus, the administrative fees of the AAA might vary from $975 to almost $9000 for the case. Moreover, customers also have to pay to arbitrators for their time, and in general an arbitrator charges $1500 per day. Therefore, it might be concluded that the AAA’s services are quite expensive and not everyone can afford it.
Works Cited
American Arbitration Association. American Arbitration Association. 2016, Web. 6 Mar. 2016
