Globalization and Financial Dispute Resolution: Examining Areas of Convergence and Informed Divergence in Financial ADR

The global reach of the financial crisis calls for renewed investigation on the impact of globalization on international legal practice. Part One of this paper examines the theoretical perspectives on the impact of globalization on international legal practice. Part Two provides a global review of financial dispute resolution programs, including arbitration models and ombudsman systems, developed to address the financial complaints of retail investors that intensified during and after the financial crisis. Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong are featured because they each reflect either the ombudsman or arbitration model of financial dispute resolution.

Part Three examines the regulatory response of selected nations to the financial crisis and how such responses have demonstrated patterns of both convergence, and informed divergence, in selected financial dispute resolution reforms.