In recent years there has been a tremendous increase in the use of arbitration and mediation in the legal system. Courts have used it as a means to deal with the backlog of cases that must be heard. Businesses have seen arbitration and mediation as great ways to reduce costs if a problem arises with a customer, client, etc. As a result, contracts that contain clauses requiring arbitration and/or mediation have become very common. This week we will be discuss arbitration and mediation. What are the differences between the two? What is binding arbitration? Is there such a thing as non-binding arbitration? What is mediation and how does it compare to arbitration? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both?