The Case for Arbitration

Litigation is public, time-consuming and expensive. As we have seen, a business’s dirty laundry can be laid bare in the litigation process for public consumption, damaging the reputations of brands and partners. For these reasons and many others, I often advocate for clients to include a mandatory, binding arbitration clause in agreements with partners, vendors and employees.

Arbitration is a procedure in which a dispute is submitted, by consent of the parties, to one or more arbitrators who make a binding, confidential resolution. Arbitration is an alternative to court litigation, where a trial judge resolves the dispute in a public forum. Many business owners prefer binding arbitration over litigation for the following reasons:

1. Confidentiality. When phrased correctly in an arbitration clause, the arbitration process is confidential and private, making it a smart choice for businesses that want to keep their private matters away from the public and press. Meanwhile, litigation is a public procedure where the public and press may access the parties’ allegations and court rulings.

2. Cost/time. Arbitration often is less costly than court litigation, primarily due to the compressed schedule for the completion of discovery and trial. There is a limited right to appeal arbitration awards, which allows for a faster final adjudication. Meanwhile, in litigation, significant expenses are devoted to lengthy pre-trial discovery processes, such as written interrogatories and depositions of witnesses. Court rulings can be appealed, which delays the finality of the adjudication.

3. Expertise. Arbitrators are selected by the parties from a pool of professionals, typically with experience in the hospitality industry and, therefore, may provide a greater level of expertise than a judge. In litigation, a judge is assigned without input of the parties.

4. Flexibility. Litigation is largely controlled by statutory and procedural rules, and conduct of the trial is governed by rules of evidence. Meanwhile, in arbitration, through provisions set forth in an agreement or upon mutual agreement of the parties once arbitration has started, the parties have the opportunity to establish rules and limits for pre-hearing exchange of documents or interrogation of witnesses, the manner in which an arbitration hearing will be conducted and the level of detail to be included in an arbitration award. An arbitrator also has considerable flexibility to consider any evidence he/she deems relevant and may issue an award based upon perceptions of fairness or equity, and not necessarily on the evidence or rules of law.

Tuckey Law, LLC covers all of your legal needs for opening and operating your food, beverage and hospitality business.

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Chef Profile

Jesse Lee Brasserie by C&C 5940 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60660

Birthplace: Highland Park, Illinois

Current Position:

Executive Chef

First Foodservice Job:

I was a long-term intern at a small high end restaurant called Inovasi.I remember being surprised at how much they let me do there with my Aggressively non-existent knowledge or experience. In hindsight, I would bet they had backups hidden of anything they had me make. I often wish I had known more about the industry at the time and taken better advantage of the opportunity there.

Favorite Food: Peking duck at Sun Wah BBQ.

Worst Part of Job: Maybe not the “worst” but I think the hardest, is learning when to stop. There is always something that can be better and cleaner, there is always more to learn, one more step that can be taken. It can’t all be done at once and learning when to stop so I don’t go insane and come back fresh is a lesson. As with anything that is a real passion, it’s hard not to let it suck you in and spit you out. At the end of the day, it’s about balance.

Most Humorous Kitchen Mishap: There was a time when a new employee, in an an effort to condense resources, unknowingly mixed the gluten free flour mix into the All Purpose flour. The subsequent days involved three batches of the most stressful bread dough I have ever made. I considered everything that I must be doing wrong except for the flour. It was not humorous at the time.

Favorite Food to prepare: Sourdough.

What part of the job gives the most pleasure? Since I was a very little kid, I always said I wanted to be a Chef. Almost no one gets to end up doing what they said they wanted to do as a kid. I get a lot of pleasure in knowing that I have a pretty rare life and got the opportunity to make my passion into my career.

If you couldn’t be a chef, what would you be and why?

I think I’d probably end up in some kind of marketing position. My business and art background seem to lend themselves to the kind of field. Although, being a mailman looks nice too.

Best advice you ever got was...General advice: find the people that believe in you and keep them close. Cooking advice: taste everything one more time. Where do you like to vacation? NYC, there is always something to see.

What do you enjoy most about FIN? It has a more honest cross-section of industry news than a lot of other outlets. It’s nice to have an internal view.

Visit Us Before You Buy Equipment, Seating, Tabletop or Prep Equipment

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Call now for more info: 630-515-9300

5400 Patton Drive. Suite 3A, Lisle, IL • www.zinkfsg.com

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