If I were representing the "real company" Thomas mentions, I would absolutely recommend that my client consider a suitably-designed arbitration provision for a freelance designer agreement.
Not least, I'd welcome the chance to put disputes into an informal, comparatively-inexpensive forum, where the risk of a runaway jury deciding the case mainly out of sympathy for the freelancer is essentially eliminated.
I would almost certainly object, though, to the ex aequo et bono standard that judge.me proclaims --- that standard, in essence, gives the arbitrator carte blanche to do whatever seems good in his or her eyes, regardless what the contract or the law says. That, coupled with the extremely-limited right of appeal of arbitration decisions, could definitely be a show-stopper.
For those interested, as part of the materials for a law-school course I teach, I've posted an extensively-annotated model arbitration provision [1].
[Disclosure: My wife is a full-time labor- and employment arbitrator.]
Not least, I'd welcome the chance to put disputes into an informal, comparatively-inexpensive forum, where the risk of a runaway jury deciding the case mainly out of sympathy for the freelancer is essentially eliminated.
I would almost certainly object, though, to the ex aequo et bono standard that judge.me proclaims --- that standard, in essence, gives the arbitrator carte blanche to do whatever seems good in his or her eyes, regardless what the contract or the law says. That, coupled with the extremely-limited right of appeal of arbitration decisions, could definitely be a show-stopper.
For those interested, as part of the materials for a law-school course I teach, I've posted an extensively-annotated model arbitration provision [1].
[Disclosure: My wife is a full-time labor- and employment arbitrator.]
[1] http://www.techlawnotes.com/docs/Common-Draft-2012-02-15.pdf...