JAMS, formerly known as Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

–based for-profit organization of

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

(ADR) services, including

mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...

and

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or ' arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ...

. H. Warren Knight, a former

California Superior Court Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by ...

judge, founded JAMS in 1979 in Santa Ana, California. A 1994 merger with Endispute of Washington, D.C. made JAMS into the largest private arbitration and mediation service in the country. It is one of the major arbitration administration organizations in the United States. As of 2017, JAMS has 27 resolution centers, including its headquarters in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

and centers in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. JAMS specializes in mediating and arbitrating complex, multi-party, business/commercial cases. JAMS administers a few hundred

consumer arbitration Disputes between consumers and businesses that are arbitrated are resolved by an independent neutral arbitrator rather than in court. Although parties can agree to arbitrate a particular dispute after it arises or may agree that the award is non ...

cases per year. JAMS's Consumer Minimum Standards have been the subject of scholarly commentary. A policy promulgated by JAMS in 2004 that would have allowed for class arbitrations, even if the arbitration agreement did not allow them, and the subsequent retraction of that policy, were also the subject of controversy.

JAMS Foundation

JAMS established the JAMS Foundation to offer financial assistance for

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abou ...

initiatives with national or international impact and to share its dispute resolution experience and expertise for the benefit of the public interest. Funded entirely by contributions from JAMS neutrals and staff, the JAMS Foundation has provided nearly $5 million in grants for

initiatives. The JAMS Foundation also established the Weinstein International Fellowship Program to provide opportunities for individuals from outside the United States to visit the U.S. and learn more about dispute resolution processes and practices and to pursue a project of their own to advance dispute resolution in their home countries. The Foundation, through the Warren Knight Award, has awarded $25,000 grants to programs dedicated to resolving conflict both in the US and around the world.

Notes

References

External links

JAMS ADR official website

JAMS International official website

American Arbitration Association
{{Authority control Dispute resolution