I know quite a few trial lawyers, and nothing takes over their lives like a trial. "I'm in trial this week," they'll say, which means, "Don't come anywhere near me until this is over."

Well, this week I'm getting a taste of what their lives are like. I'm serving as an arbitrator in a dispute. Arbitration is an informal, "alternative" dispute resolution system, but when the stakes get high enough, it feels an awful lot like courtroom litigation -- just in a hotel conference room. And so it is for me this week. (We're in a recess at the moment.)

Being an arbitrator, like being a judge, requires one's full attention. It's tough work, and it's confirming my respect for the folks in the black robes.