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From KQED.

Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. If you've signed up for a credit card, the warranty on a product, or accepted a job, you've likely agreed at some point to arbitration to settle any disputes rather than go through the courts.

Forced arbitration promises to be a faster, easier way to reach resolution, but it's a process that Brendan Ballou, a former federal prosecutor, says is too often biased in favor of corporations.

In this system, decisions are hidden from the public and cannot be appealed,

he writes. Judges decide their own powers and are often paid for by the companies they're

supposed to judge. Ballou's new book is when companies run the courts. Listeners, do you think

forced arbitration is flawed? What's been your experience? Brendan, welcome to Forum. Thank you so much

for having me. Well, you've said forced arbitration touches virtually every part of our lives. How often

are we being asked to agree to arbitration? Well, the most recent studies say that there are more

forced arbitration agreements than there are American citizens. And I think that probably

dramatically understates

the number of agreements. So about 80% of Fortune 500 companies use forced arbitration, either with

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