by Jeff Sovern
My coauthor, Paul Kirgis, has posted an excellent response to Alan S. Kaplinsky and Mark J. Levin's comments on the CFPB Monitor on our arbitration study. His response also has the virtue of being briefer than mine. While Paul's post is worth reading in full, here is my favorite part:
Citizens cannot be forced into alternative processes simply because someone has made a determination that they would in fact be better served by the alternatives. It is certainly true that citizens can choose to give up their adjudicative rights, but those choices have legitimacy only if they are knowing and voluntary. Our research suggests that consent to arbitration is seldom knowing and voluntary.
