The Law & ADR Offices of Alicia Khoo

Has Losing Time And Money Deterred You From Taking Your Dispute To Trial?

So many resources can be squandered in a legal proceeding with no guarantee that you will prevail in the end. The wheels of justice turn slowly in civil cases. Numerous factors combine to make justice a process that can take years to achieve.

First, your case may not see a courtroom for a year or more. Once it does, over-burdened dockets, discovery, motions, continuances and other delays can postpone your case indefinitely. All this time, you’re incurring fees for filing, service of process, expert witnesses and your attorney.

For these reasons, many clients choose arbitration as the preferred method to settle their legal disputes. Arbitration’s length from request to award is far shorter than a trial. Also, while arbitration has its unique fees, they are considerably less than you'd incur if your case went to Court.

Alicia Khoo: Your Experienced Arbitration Attorney

If you’re ready to retain a skilled arbitration lawyer, Alicia Khoo is uniquely prepared to help. As a Certified Neutral Person, she is qualified to arbitrate disputes worldwide. With her background as both an arbitrator and an arbitration attorney, she has a deep understanding and mastery of the process.

Alicia Khoo has demonstrated over her 19 years of experience a commitment to Alternative Dispute Resolution, which she credits with building more peace in the community.

She prizes harmonious outcomes over fractious litigation. Consistently, her focus has been to provide smaller businesses and families with high-quality representation characterized by compassion, service, integrity and transparency.

If Arbitration Isn’t a Trial, How Exactly Does It Work?

Arbitration is an agreement between you and another party or parties to settle a dispute privately and out of Court. The process begins with one party submitting a Demand for Arbitration to the other. Then, through an arbitration agreement, the parties agree on the selection of an arbitrator and the rules governing the arbitration proceeding. The arbitrator is, by necessity, a neutral and impartial third party who will hear and rule on the case just as a judge would.

Arbitration follows many of the procedures and phases of a traditional legal proceeding. There are hearings, exchange of discovery, presentation of evidence and testimony. After all the evidence is presented, the arbitrator applies the law to the facts presented and renders a decision, referred to as an “award.”

There are two types of arbitration: binding and non-binding. In binding arbitration, the parties agree to waive their right to a trial and accept the arbitrator’s decision as final. Generally, there is no right to appeal except in rare instances.

Non-binding arbitration leaves the door open for either party to request a trial if they disagree with the arbitrator’s decision. In that case, the party requesting a trial has 60 days from the arbitrator’s entry of the judgment or award to do so. Often, non-binding arbitration is chosen when parties seek to test the strength of their case before they consider a trial.