Also known as: daysmen · arbitrator · umpire
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An arbitrator or umpire selected to decide a dispute between parties. The role requires the daysman to remain neutral and render a binding award after hearing evidence and argument.
Dwight Dorsey, a sitting state judge, received a request from Dover Bank and Drake Logistics to serve as sole arbitrator in their contract dispute. Because the assignment lay outside his official duties and no statute authorized it, Dorsey declined the appointment to avoid violating judicial conduct rules.
Destiny Davis served as sole arbitrator in a cargo dispute between Demetrius Douglas and Deborah Dunn. Two years later Dunn asked Davis to represent her in related litigation over the same shipment. Without written consent from both parties, Davis could not accept the engagement.
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Deanna Davenport, a lawyer with no prior attorney-client relationship to either side, conducted confidential caucuses between Dolores Diaz and Duffy Construction to resolve a construction defect claim. Davenport explained that she was serving solely as a neutral and not representing either party.
Davenport Pharmaceuticals required its delivery drivers to sign employment contracts containing arbitration clauses. When a driver later sued in court, the company moved to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act. The court enforced the clause and referred the wage dispute to a neutral daysman.
Dover Bank and Drake Logistics disagreed whether their collective-bargaining agreement required arbitration of a grievance over work assignments. The union argued the dispute fell outside the arbitration clause. A court held that the daysman must first decide whether the grievance was arbitrable.
After a French daysman awarded damages to a U.S. creditor against a French debtor, the creditor sought enforcement in American court. The debtor resisted on grounds that the foreign proceeding lacked due process. The court examined comity principles before deciding whether to recognize the award.
A daysman historically served as an elected arbitrator or umpire who heard evidence from disputing parties and issued a binding decision. The term appears in older legal texts to describe a neutral selected to resolve controversies outside formal court proceedings.
Supporting sources
Yes. Model Rule 1.12(a) prohibits a lawyer from representing a client in a matter in which the lawyer participated personally and substantially as an arbitrator or other third-party neutral unless all parties give informed consent confirmed in writing. The prohibition applies even when the later matter involves slightly different legal theories arising from the same underlying transaction.
Supporting sources
No. Model Rule of Judicial Conduct 3.9 bars a judge from acting as an arbitrator or mediator apart from official duties unless a statute expressly authorizes the service. The restriction preserves judicial impartiality and prevents the appearance that the judge is performing extra-judicial functions for compensation.
A lawyer serving as a daysman acts as a third-party neutral who assists non-clients in reaching a resolution rather than advocating for any party. The lawyer must inform unrepresented participants that no attorney-client relationship exists and must maintain strict neutrality throughout the proceeding.
…our freedom from political excitements in judicial duties, this court can never with propriety be called on officially to be the umpire in questions merely political. The adjustment of these questions belongs to the people and their political representatives, either in the State or general government. These questions relate…