For General Counsel
A general counsel’s framework
Three decisions face the general counsel facing a commercial dispute: which pathway (arbitration, mediation, Arb-Med-Arb, ODR, or court); which institution if arbitration; and which counsel. Lex Arbitrate addresses the first two. The third remains entirely with you.
Institutional choice is rarely revisited mid-dispute and is often locked in years before the dispute arises — in the contract drafting moment. The model clauses on this site, and the Customisation Wizard, are calibrated to give general counsel control over institutional procedure at the drafting stage so that downstream choices are clear, not contested.
Pathway-choice matrix at a glance
| SITUATION | RECOMMENDED PATHWAY |
|---|---|
| Cross-border counterparty, enforcement matters | Arbitration (NYC seat) or Arb-Med-Arb |
| Continuing commercial relationship at stake | Mediation, fall-back to arbitration |
| Documentary dispute, no credibility issue | Documents-only arbitration |
| Below fast-track value threshold | Fast-Track Arbitration or ODR |
| Multi-jurisdictional witnesses, time-zone complexity | ODR or hybrid arbitration |
| Regulator-adjacent, reputational exposure | Mediation (confidentiality absolute) |
| Novel legal question, public interest | Court (arbitration may be unsuitable) |
Budgeting the matter
Lex Arbitrate publishes its institutional fee Schedule with a hard cap calibrated to claim value. Three components shape the budget envelope: institutional administrative fees (registration, scrutiny, secretariat support); arbitrator fees (capped by Schedule, with a completion incentive payable on delivery within or ahead of the published timeline); and counsel and disbursement costs (your engagement, outside the institution’s control).
The institution’s timeline discipline directly compresses the counsel-cost envelope. A six-month fast-track arbitration almost invariably costs less in counsel time than a twelve-month standard track, even where the same scope of evidence is presented — because the calendar prevents drift.