The leaders of Atlanta-based Am Law 200 firm Morris, Manning & Martin’s newly launched alternative dispute resolution practice have approached fellow litigators with a simple pitch: why not demand the same level of industry expertise from your third-party neutrals as your clients would from their lawyer?

Practice chair Larry Kunin, who also serves as chair of the firm’s technology and intellectual property practices, said the idea formed when he realized that his frustration with the lack of technical experience among arbitrators and mediators was shared by peer litigators at rival firms.