Mass Arbitration Year in Review and Outlook for 2026: Key Decisions, New Procedural Rules, Bellwether Cases

This CLE webinar will review significant trial and appellate court decisions in 2025 concerning key aspects of mass arbitration practice and offer a preview of what to expect in 2026. The speakers will discuss new mass arbitration rules issued by the American Arbitration Association and JAMS and what companies need to pay the most attention to when drafting class waivers and mandatory arbitration provisions.

Mass arbitrations—where plaintiffs' firms bring dozens, hundreds, or thousands of identical claims against a business—create settlement leverage through arbitration fees that arbitral bodies invoice to defendants. Litigation funding often provides plaintiffs’ firms with capital to pay any upfront plaintiff arbitral fees. 

2025 saw notable rulings at the appellate and trial court levels addressing pivotal aspects of mass arbitration, including several that offer defendants a working playbook for addressing the threat of crippling arbitration fees that prevent consideration of the merits. Moreover, both the American Arbitration Association and JAMS have issued mass arbitration procedural rules to address the fee issue and the flood of arbitration claims. Defendants must be vigilant about the wording of their arbitration provisions. One emerging tool—a bellwether arbitration provision—has been frequently challenged in court, with mixed success. 

Listen as our panel of defense counsel offers insight into which strategies and practices are best for preventing mass arbitrations and effectively defending against them.