Kevin Nachtrab
Senior IP Patent Attorney, Johnson & Johnson (Europe), Brussels, Belgium

It is an issue addressed in virtually all contract negotiations. Anyone involved with transactional work routinely deals with it. When raised, it often becomes the subject of a heated debate. And yet, it is probably one of most important but misunderstood and neglected issues dealt in contractual negotiations. The “it” is the issue of whether the contract should designate that disputes between parties arising under the agreement should be resolved by either mediation/ arbitration or by litigation. In other words: To Arbitrate or to Litigate.