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23 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/cardcore23 and id is 1 raw text is: PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR ARBITRAL DISCLOSURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY Mitch Zamoff and Leslie Bellwood* ABSTRACT The statutes and rules governing the disclosures of conflicts of interest by arbitrators, which failed to provide much clarity even prior to the advent of social media, do not provide any concrete gui- dance about the disclosure of an arbitrator's social media connec- tions with the arbitration participants. The absence of clear, consistent standards governing social media disclosures is problem- atic for both arbitrators and the parties who select and appear before them. This problem will only get worse as arbitrators make increas- ing use of social media for personal and professional purposes, and as challenges to arbitration awards based on inadequate disclosure of social media activity work their way through the courts. Arbitra- tors who fail to make adequate disclosures about their social media activity expose themselves to ethical and reputational risk and their awards to vacatur. Arbitrators who search for and fully disclose their social media connections-in an era when many of their peers do not-are likely to be unfairly punished for their transparency in the marketplace for arbitration services. And in today's uncertain environment, the parties to an arbitration do not know how to inter- pret an arbitral disclosure that does not contain any reference to so- cial media activity. Does it mean that there are no social media connections between the arbitrator and the participants in the arbi- tration, to the best of the arbitrator's recollection? Does it mean that the arbitrator searched the social media platforms she uses and iden- tified no such connections? Or does it mean that the arbitrator has social media connections to the participants in the arbitration, but views those connections as immaterial? Unfortunately, absent a uni- form approach, there is no way to know the answers to these ques- tions. Arbitrators need clearer guidance to ensure compliance with ethical rules and the standards governing vacatur of arbitral awards. * Mitch Zamoff is the J. Stewart and Mario Thomas McClendon Professor of Law and Alter- native Dispute Resolution at University of Minnesota Law School, as well as an arbitrator. Les- lie Bellwood is a third-year student at University of Minnesota Law School. Melanie Griffith provided valuable research in support of this Article. 1

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