Massachusetts Plaintiffs’ Bar Cautiously Embraces Arbitration

Plaintiffs’ attorneys in Massachusetts are fighting back against the growing popularity of mandatory arbitration agreements in an unexpected way: by participating in the process.

Businesses nationwide have long embraced agreements compelling workers and consumers to pursue disputes via arbitration as a way to quickly resolve claims and discourage costly class actions, with wind at their back from the US Supreme Court and federal law.

“In the past, plaintiff-side employment lawyers would be hesitant to pursue arbitration cases at all because of the built-in employer advantages,” said Thomas Fowler, a partner at workers’ rights firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan PC. But “if ...