In the early 1980s Americans confronted a relatively new consumer good: bottled water. The challenge faced by the sellers of bottled water was to convince consumers to pay for an otherwise free commodity i.e., to create an irresistible “value proposition.” Consumers of dispute resolution services face a similar choice today.

Consider a typical scenario: Your company is about to sign a significant contract. It may be with a critical vendor, it could be an important agreement with a consultant or even a “buy/sell” agreement respecting the company you started years ago. Whatever the nature of the contract, you will have to consider the possibility that, in the future, you will have a dispute with your counter-party. You should address this possibility by considering the forum in which the dispute will be heard. There are a number of seemingly “boilerplate” provisions which you may want to consider, including whether “all disputes” must be submitted to arbitration for a final, non-appealable decision. Absent such a provision, any dispute will be decided by a court.