To be legal, arbitration must be fair and protect the legal rights of both parties (although enforcing that requirement is obviously difficult). But arbitration

To be legal, arbitration must be fair and protect the legal rights of both parties (although enforcing that requirement is obviously difficult). But arbitration doesn’t have to be as formal as a regular court, and that informality is supposed to save a lot of money, so US law actually prefers arbitration when it’s an option.