California Arbitration and Mediation Services

Christopher M. Adishian, Esq., founder of Adishian Law Group, P.C. is available to serve as an Arbitrator or Mediator in your corporate, business or real estate related legal dispute. Mr. Adishian, who externed for a California Supreme Court justice, and for a former Federal Judge, brings an enormous breadth of business, law and human experience, strong quantitative and creative problem solving skills to his arbitration and mediation practice. 

What is the difference between Civil Court, Arbitration and Mediation, and how are they related? This question is asked all the time. In short, they are all forms of "dispute resolution."

Arbitration Services by Chris Adishian

Arbitration simply put is a private dispute resolution process that mirrors a judge trial in civil court, and is designed to be an alternative to civil court. Ideally, arbitration can provide the parties with a faster, more cost effective resolution process than a traditional civil trial in Federal or State Court. Generally, all the same claims and remedies are available to the litigants, and all arbitration decisions are "final". All the parties to the dispute must agree: (1) to arbitrate the claims, (2) on the actual Arbitrator(s) and (3) whether the arbitration will be binding or non-binding. At the conclusion of the arbitration trial, the Arbitrator will render a ruling or judgment, typically in the form of a written opinion. This ruling or judgment has the same force and effect as a Court judgment and perhaps is even stronger because the grounds for appealing an Arbitrator's rulings are extremely limited.

Mediation Services by Chris Adishian

Mediation is a voluntary, non-binding, dispute resolution "process" where the Mediator works with the parties to attempt to reach a final, binding agreement to resolve the matter either prior to filing a complaint or during the course of litigation. Unlike an Arbitrator, a Mediator is not able to impose a decision on the parties. Parties can agree to participate in Mediation prior to the commencement of litigation (whether in civil court or Arbitration) or during the course of litigation. Mediation is in fact required in the standard form California Real Estate Contract before a party can file a complaint in Arbitration or Litigation. If a party to this contract fails to participate in mediation, and proceeds to file a Complaint, he or she will forfeit the ability to collect attorneys' fees.

With well over 95% of all filed cases settling before trial, and given that it often requires at least two years of time, and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get to a trial, a good, focused mediation is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of common-sense, rational decision-making.

A voluntary, non-binding mediation can often save the parties from a massive waste of resources, thereby enabling them to re-deploy resources faster and more efficiently to other projects.

Arbitration and Mediation Submission Form

Please use our FREE online Arbitration and Mediation submission form to better understand how either arbitration or mediation may be your best tool to reach resolution. Our Arbitration and Mediation submission form will help you gather the information that you will need to answer basic questions and help our staff review your matter. There is no charge and no obligation to use our Arbitration and Mediation submission form. In order to assist with the timely review of your matter, please complete our Arbitration and Mediation submission form before calling the office.

You will receive an email confirmation letting you know that you submission has been received. If you do not receive the confirmation, then your submission did not get delivered. If you are having trouble with the online form, email directly to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All information submitted is treated confidentially whether or not you ultimately retain us to represent you.