Founded in 2021, California Arbitration provides opportunities for the legal community to connect - and grow international arbitration and ADR in California.
Our History
California Arbitration, Inc. (CalArb) was founded by international lawyer and arbitrator Gary Benton in 2021 as a nonprofit educational foundation to support international arbitration and ADR in California. CalArb serves as the voice of the California international arbitration and ADR community.
The CalArb Founding Directors, all elected by the membership, are Board Chair [California Associate Justice (ret.)] Daniel M. Kolkey and Board Members Laura Abrahamson, Gary Benton, Cedric Chao, Paul H. Cohen, Jeffery Daar, Ruth Glick, Nathan O’Malley, Marcus Quintanilla, Barbara Reeves, Steven Smith and Dana Welch. Leading practitioners from California, throughout the US and beyond joined to support the initiative.
The first elected officers were Gary Benton (President), Dana Welch (1st Vice President), Laura Abrahamson ( 2nd Vice President), Jeffery Daar (Officer at Large), Marcus Quintanilla (Treasurer) and Giorgio Sassine (Secretary). Through their leadership, CalArb rapidly grew to over two hundred members actively working to implement the organization’s mission.
As a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational foundation, CalArb provides the public educational resources on the benefits of international arbitration and mediation. CalArb guides businesses, including corporate counsel and law firm counsel, and practitioners around the globe, on dispute resolution in California.
California is the fourth largest economy in the world. CalArb’s first major initiative was supporting the California Lawyers Association (CLA), the professional bar association in California, in hosting California International Arbitration Week (CIAW). CIAW is now an annual event with over a thousand registrants each year featuring programs presented by many of leading international arbitrations in the world.
CalArb continues to grow and evolve as the international arbitration and ADR practice in California expands. In 2023, Dana Welch was elected President and Laura Abrahamson was elected 1st Vice President.
CalArb membership is available to all interested legal practitioners and others in the international arbitration and ADR fields. Practitioners from California and around the world are welcome.
See our current Leadership page here.
California Arbitration, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt foundation.