Parties that opt to have each party select one arbitrator of a three-arbitrator panel generally believe that this arrangement will ensure that each party has at least one sympathetic ear on the panel. But it can skew the arbitration process, leading one authority to recommend that “The use of tripartite boards should be discouraged in commercial arbitration in the interest of the parties themselves in obtaining a fair decision.” Martin Domke, Larry Edmonson, Gabriel M Wilner, 2 Domke on Com. Arb. § 24:4 (2010).
If you specify that the arbitrators are to be neutral, the contract will be silent regarding who selects the arbitrators, with the result that they will be selected by operation of the AAA’s commercial arbitration rules.