Saturday, September 17, 2016

Arbitration: A Better Place for Retired Judges

Many retired judges work as highly paid arbitrators for firms such as JAMS and the American Arbitration Association. Arbitrators are private judges who are hired by two or more parties who have a legal dispute.
Here is how JAMS, a highly respected private judicial system, promotes itself:
JAMS is the largest private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the world. With its prestigious panel of neutrals, JAMS specializes in mediating and arbitrating complex, multi-party, business/commercial cases – those in which the choice of neutral is crucial.
Founded 1979
The Experts
Nearly 300 full-time neutrals, including retired judges and attorneys with proven track records. 195 employee associates.
ADR Options
Facilitative and evaluative mediation, binding arbitration, neutral case evaluation, settlement conference, mini trial, summary jury trial, neutral expert fact finding, special master, discovery referee, class action settlement adjudication, project neutral and dispute review board services.
Cases Handled
JAMS panelists primarily resolve multi-party, complex cases in virtually all areas of the law. JAMS handles an average of more than 12,000 cases per year in hearing locations throughout the world.

In my opinion, this is an excellent way for a retired judge to be employed after leaving the bench. Retired judges frequently charge $300 per hour and up for their services. I see no problem with this-- it's a private sector market (and preferable to collecting a 100%-of-salary pension, while earning a 100% salary, all paid by taxpayers).

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