The American Arbitration Association® (AAA), the global leader in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), launched its new Web3 Panel, a specialized panel of arbitrators focused on disputes involving smart contracts, blockchain, digital assets, tokenization, decentralized systems, agentic commerce, and autonomous transactions.
As digital assets, blockchain infrastructure, and agentic systems become more integrated into commercial activity, new categories of disputes are beginning to emerge across decentralized, automated, and cross-border environments. These matters can raise questions involving contract formation and interpretation, governance, asset control, cybersecurity, transaction records, and cross-border enforcement.
“Web3 disputes involve familiar commercial questions in a highly technical environment,” said Eric Dill, SVP, chief people officer and head of panel relations at the AAA. “As emerging technologies become more embedded in how businesses operate, manage assets, and enter agreements, parties need dispute resolution processes that combine trusted administration, technical fluency, and practical case management.”
The Web3 Panel brings together arbitrators with experience across law, technology, academia, commercial arbitration, litigation, and digital-asset business disputes. The AAA is continuing to recruit qualified arbitrators as it expands the panel to reflect the range of legal, technical, and commercial issues emerging across the Web3 ecosystem.
Among the panel’s initial members are:
- Dr. Kabir Duggal, partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, whose practice includes cross-border commercial, investor-State, and technology disputes involving digital assets, blockchain, fintech, and emerging technologies.
- David L. Evans, counsel at Murphy & King, P.C., who focuses on complex technology disputes involving AI, automated commerce, and blockchain.
- David A. Hoffman, William A. Schnader Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, whose scholarship includes smart contracts, decentralized finance, form contracts, and AI-assisted contract interpretation.
- Paula Pendley, partner at Nelson Mullins, who represents digital-asset infrastructure companies, Bitcoin miners, and AI data centers in disputes and risk-management matters.
- Rich Widmann, global head of Web3 strategy at Google Cloud and founder of Incite Consulting, with experience advising on legal and business issues involving AI, cryptocurrency, and other emerging technologies.
The launch of the Web3 Panel builds on the AAA’s broader leadership in dispute resolution for emerging technologies, including its work supporting clear, enforceable ADR clauses and legal infrastructure for automated and AI-enabled commerce. The AAA will continue to expand the panel as new technologies, business models, and categories of disputes emerge.
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