It's Friday evening. You are winding down the week until your client calls to tell you that one of their business partners just paused operations. Unfortunately, this is a clear breach of their performance obligations under the parties' agreement and one that will cause immediate, irreparable harm to your client.

You look at the parties' contract and it includes an arbitration clause. What do you do?

Typically, you have two options: You file for an injunction in court to preserve the status quo or you apply to the arbitral institution for relief through emergency arbitration. The route you should take depends on a number of factors, outlined below.