About Arbitration Info

Our Mission

The objective of this website is to be a comprehensive, non-commercial, neutral, and multi-level source for information about arbitration in the workplace.  Unlike some websites about arbitration, we do not generate or funnel business to a particular arbitrator or arbitration practice group. Our aim is educational.

Partners

This project is a cooperative endeavor of the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA) and the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law (CSDR).  The project has been made possible through a generous grant from the NAA Research and Education Foundation (REF).  The Foundation was founded in 1985, and through the years it has supported a variety of education, training, and research activities. Information on how to contribute or apply for a research grant can be found on its web page.

The NAA and the CSDR recognize Gil Vernon (NAA President 2010) for his role in the development of this project and for serving as the Founding Editor of the site.

We also recognize the contribution of Professor Jon Stemmle, Associate Professor Strategic Communication University of Missouri School of Journalism, Director of AdZou Capstone Program, and Director of Operations and Research, Mojo Ad Capstone.  Under Professor Stemmle’s  supervision the following students provided invaluable assistance in the development and implementation of the website: Caleb Cavarretta, Jessica Evans, Derrick Lin, Chika Okoronkwo, Ciara O’Shea, Austin Perschbacher, Alexander Ralph, Jordan Roberts, Peyton Rosencrants, Marcus Samuel and Jiyoung Won.

National Academy of Arbitrators

The Academy was founded in 1947 as a not-for-profit honorary and professional organization of arbitrators in the United States and Canada. Members are chosen by involved parties to hear and decide thousands of labor and employment arbitration cases each year in private industry, the public sector, and non-profits in both countries.  Currently, there are more than six hundred members. The Academy’s purposes are educational and fraternal. As a friend of the court, the Academy has participated in appellate litigation in both the United States and Canada on major issues affecting the institution of arbitration.  It also works cooperatively with sister organizations such as government agencies, professional organizations, institutions, and learned societies in the field of labor-management and employment relations. Admission standards are rigorous in keeping with the goal of establishing and fostering the highest standards of integrity and competence. The Academy’s annual meetings are open to members and non-members and feature speakers who are labor-management and employment relations practitioners, arbitrators, judges, government officials, and law school and other university professors. Papers presented at the annual meeting are published in hard-copy form by the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA). With a two-year time lag, The Proceedings from annual meetings also are available free of charge in a searchable format at the NAA’s website.

Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution – University of Missouri Law School

In 1984 the faculty at the University of Missouri School of Law identified what seemed to be a missing piece in legal education: the limited attention paid by law schools to teaching topics related to problem solving. The faculty realized that this gap was due in part to a lack of understanding of the theory and practice of how disputes are resolved outside the litigation context. While scholars and practitioners had started to study alternative dispute resolution processes, the field lacked a coherent core. With the support and encouragement of Dean Dale Whitman, the faculty embarked on a mission to shape the development of this nascent field of legal studies through the creation of the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution. Our commitment focuses on bringing together scholars for research and education in what continues to be an area of expanding interest. The mission of the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution is to advance the understanding of the nature and causes of conflict as well as the methods available for managing and resolving it. CSDR fosters comprehensive approaches to lawyering and decision-making through the use of the full array of dispute resolution processes, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation.

Editors and Committee Members

Editors: Elizabeth Wesman, NAA, Managing Editor; Bill McKee, NAA, Copy Editor; Carli Conklin; and, Rafael Gely CSDR;

ArbitrationInfo NAA Committee Members: Charles F. Ammeson, Robert G. Bailey, Lise G. Gelernter, Paula Knopf, James C. Oakley, Susan Grody Ruben, and Maretta Comfort Toedt.