Overview
Even before the Texas Supreme Court ruled in the 2002 case of In re Halliburton that an employer could enforce an arbitration policy found in an employee handbook, courts in Texas have strongly favored arbitration of disputes. Contracting parties have recognized this trend and followed lead by employing an increasing use of arbitration provisions. Now, arbitration clauses are more regularly found in employee handbooks, sub-contractor construction agreements, attorney-client agreements, corporate by-laws, sales of goods, real estate agreements, and numerous other arenas. The American Arbitration Association, whose formal procedures are often invoked in these agreements, has developed several different rules of order for handling arbitration disputes in the many contexts they arise.
Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom’s lawyers have handled high-stakes arbitrations in many arenas including major insurance coverage disputes, sub-contractor construction disputes, partnership disputes, professional disputes involving lawyers, and among other things, significant employment disputes. Our attorneys have also litigated the enforceability of arbitration clauses and the scope of an arbitrator’s authority. The seasoned attorneys in our Trial and Specialty Litigation Division couple their considerable arbitration experience with a traditional litigation tenacity that provides clients with outstanding advocacy. Our lawyers have achieved their noted successes while never straying from the purpose of many arbitration clauses – a streamlined, cost-efficient approach to dispute resolution.
