Advisory Arbitration

Advisory arbitration is similar to regular arbitration, except that it is used for advisory purposes only—the outcome is not binding. Its purpose is to give parties information about the likely result of a case without risking the finality of an unfavorable outcome. Advisory arbitration can help clarify the legal ramifications of the case and the likely judicial or arbitrated outcome for all parties. Once such a clarification is obtained, parties and their lawyers are in a much better position to negotiate an outcome that parallels the likely adjudicated outcome yet saves time and money. In addition, the parties can fine-tune the agreement to better meet their needs while staying close enough to the predicted adjudicated outcome so that all the parties will agree to the negotiated settlement.