the parties or in a variation which is sometimes used, each of the parties select one arbitrator and either those two arbitrators or the arbitration organization selects a neutral who also serves as chairman of the panel. In the United States, arbitrators are usually but not always lawyers or retired judges.
In securities arbitrations before the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), one of the three arbitrators must have a background in the securities industry and one must represent the public, either of whom may be but do not have to be lawyers.
Arbitration differs from other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in that arbitrators have the power to decide the dispute. Mediation, for example, is "a process whereby a neutral third party assists disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable decision" (Hoffman, 1994, p. 848). In negotiations, the parties resolve their dispute directly without the intervention of third parties. In mini-trials and early neutral evaluation, an impar
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