Effective Vindication in Name Only: How Arbitration Rights Now Depend on Geography

By Braxton Johnson Defendants invoke arbitration to control costs, timelines, and exposure, but courts must still confront a threshold question: will arbitration permit plaintiffs to meaningfully vindicate federal statutory rights? In Italian Colors, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) sought to answer this question by recognizing the “effective vindication doctrine,” which bars enforcement…

Raytheon on the Hot Seat: What a $950 Million FCPA Case Teaches MNEs About Arbitration and Compliance

By Alexandra Schieferer On October 16, 2024, defense giant Raytheon Company agreed to pay over $950 million to settle allegations of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, defective pricing, and export control breaches, marking one of the largest joint settlements in recent years. This enforcement action illustrates how corruption investigations can spiral into cascading contractual…

Contracting a Womb: The Necessity of an Arbitration Clause

By Brenna Callahan In 2025, it is difficult to imagine a world without surrogacy. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Andy Cohen have ushered society into a new era of contracting a womb. The practice benefits same-sex couples and women with prohibitive health conditions. However, its popularity has only recently reached the masses. In the early…

Forced Arbitration in Tesla’s Consumer Contracts

by: Abby Hug, Senior Staffer The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) reflects a federal policy that strongly favors arbitration for resolving disputes, especially regarding written agreements between a buyer and seller. Arbitration appeals to organizations because arbitrators tend to issue results that favor the company that hired them, it is cheaper than litigation, and keeps product…