Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators

Summary

What Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators Do About this section

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators help parties come to mutually acceptable agreements.

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators facilitate negotiation and conflict resolution through dialogue. They resolve conflicts outside of the court system by mutual consent of the parties involved.

Duties

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators typically do the following:

• Facilitate communication between disputants to guide parties toward mutual agreement
• Clarify issues, concerns, needs, and interests of all parties involved
• Conduct initial meetings with disputants to outline the arbitration process
• Settle procedural matters or details such as fees, numbers of witnesses, and schedules
• Set up appointments for parties to meet for mediation or arbitration
• Interview claimants, agents, or witnesses to obtain information about disputed issues
• Prepare settlement agreements for disputants’ signatures
• Apply relevant laws, regulations, policies, or precedents to reach conclusions
• Evaluate information from documents such as claim applications, birth or death certificates, and physician or employer records

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators help opposing parties settle disputes outside of court. They hold private, confidential hearings, which are less formal than those held in court.

Arbitrators are usually lawyers, business professionals, or retired judges with expertise in a particular field. As impartial third parties, they hear and decide disputes between opposing parties. Arbitrators may work alone or on a panel with other arbitrators. In some cases, arbitrators may decide procedural issues, such as what evidence may be submitted and when hearings will be held.

Arbitration may be required by law for some claims and disputes. When it is not required, the parties in dispute sometimes voluntarily agree to arbitration rather than proceed with litigation or a trial. In some cases, parties may appeal the arbitrator’s decision.

Mediators are neutral parties who help people resolve their disputes. However, unlike arbitrators, they do not render binding decisions. Rather, mediators help facilitate discussion and guide the parties toward a mutually acceptable agreement. If the opposing sides cannot reach a settlement with the mediator’s help, they are free to pursue other options.

Conciliators are similar to mediators. Although their role is to help guide opposing sides to a settlement, they typically meet with the parties separately. The opposing sides must decide in advance if they will be bound by the conciliator’s recommendations.

Work Environment About this section

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators usually work in private offices or meeting rooms.

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators held about 8,200 jobs in 2023. The largest employers of arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators were as follows:

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators typically work in private offices or meeting rooms. They may travel to a mutually agreed-upon site chosen for negotiations.

The work may be stressful because arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators sometimes work with difficult or confrontational individuals or with highly charged and emotional situations, such as injury settlements or family disputes.

Work Schedules

Most arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators work full time.

How to Become an Arbitrator, Mediator, or Conciliator About this section

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators are usually lawyers or business professionals with expertise in a particular field.

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators typically need at least a bachelor's degree and related experience to enter the occupation. They learn their skills through a combination of education, training, and work experience.

Education

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators typically need at least a bachelor's degree at the entry level. Few candidates for these jobs receive a degree specific to the field of arbitration, mediation, or conflict resolution. Rather, many positions require education appropriate to the applicant’s field of expertise. Some positions require candidates to have a law degree, a master’s in business administration, or another type of advanced degree.

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators typically have experience and expertise in a particular field, such as construction, finance, or insurance. They may be lawyers or retired judges, have experience in advocacy, or have a background in business or the industry in which they plan to work.

Training

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators typically shadow or assist an experienced supervisor. They may support a certain number of cases before working independently.

Training for arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators is available from a variety of organizations, such as postsecondary schools, government agencies, and community mediation centers. Opportunities may include formal internships or volunteer positions.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

There is no national license for arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators. However, some states require arbitrators and mediators to become certified to work on certain types of cases. Qualifications, standards, and the number of training hours required vary by state or by court.

Some states require licenses appropriate to the applicant’s field of expertise. For example, some courts may require applicants to be licensed attorneys or certified public accountants. For more information, contact your state licensing agency.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators evaluate facts from large amounts of complex information and apply relevant rules of law.

Communication skills. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators must be able to clearly present and explain information, both orally and in writing, to opposing parties to settle disputes.

Critical-thinking skills. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators must remain neutral and not let their personal assumptions interfere with proceedings.

Decision-making skills. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators must be able to weigh facts, apply the law or rules, and make a decision relatively quickly.

Detail oriented. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators must pay close attention to what is being said and must be precise in explaining their recommendations or decisions.

Interpersonal skills. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators deal with disputing parties and must be able to facilitate discussion in a calm and respectful way.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage for arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators was $67,710 in May 2024. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $46,200, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $133,480.

In May 2024, the median annual wages for arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Most arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators work full time.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators is projected to grow 6 percent from 2023 to 2033, faster than the average for all occupations.

About 300 openings for arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

The alternative methods of resolving disputes that these workers provide often are quicker and less expensive than trials and litigation. In addition, many contracts, such as those for employment and real estate, include clauses requiring mediation or arbitration to resolve complaints and disputes. These factors should help to support demand for arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators.

However, because alternative dispute resolution in government is contingent on available funds, state and local government budgets may affect public sector employment of arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators.

State & Area Data About this section

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link below goes to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area. Use the dropdown boxes to select an occupation.

• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Profiles

Projections Central

Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.org. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved.

CareerOneStop

CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators, visit

American Arbitration Association (AAA)

Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR)

National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA)

O*NET

Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators