Summary: Penned by Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley and later used in this abbreviated form by then California Governor Ronald Reagan is the phrase,

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck.

Although typically less formal than a trial, there are many similarities between an arbitration and a civil trial. Because of these similarities, one might believe that arbitration is the same as a trial, only more private, more expedient, and less expensive. However, private arbitration is not a civil trial and the differences, not the similarities, should be considered when determining whether a dispute should be arbitrated rather than tried. This article summarizes those differences.

A PDF version of this article with legal references can be found here.