Barkett Comments on Advantages to Arbitrating in Florida

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Arbitration & ADR Partner John Barkett is quoted in a March 28, 2014, Law360 article about next week’s International Council for Commercial Arbitration biennial congress in Miami. Noting that “[i]n some circles, there is an unexplained bias in favor of New York” as an arbitration forum, Barkett pointed to the advantages of rendering arbitration services in Florida, including the lack of special licensing or bar approval requirements, as well as no state income tax. He also discussed fairly consistent Eleventh Circuit enforcement rulings, in contrast to the Second Circuit’s uneven outcomes, and a recently launched initiative in the state’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court to establish an international commercial arbitration court with specially trained judges. The article concludes with Barkett emphasizing the benefits of pursuing alternative dispute resolution in Florida: “You can operate under a piece of legislation you should be familiar with, at a lower price than in New York or London, in comfortable weather in a tropical setting with all of the same benefits that New York or London can provide. It’s pretty hard to say no to Miami.” To read the article, please click here.