Improving the search for information about arbitrators

Last week I received an invite to a summer gathering organized by English mediator, David Richbell. One of the events is “Speed dating: Senior mediators including, amongst others, Michel Kallipetis, Liz Birch, Nicholas Pryor available for ten-minute personal interview.”

Imagine how such an innovative method for choosing an arbitrator might work:

Would parties say you manage proceedings with a firm hand?

How long do you think an arbitration should last?

Do think it is appropriate for a tribunal to decide dispositive issues at the outset of a proceeding?

Ding!
[Announcer] “Time’s up! Please move to your next candidate.”

Introd [...]

Construction work at the Florence Chamber of Commerce has forced the city’s arbitration and mediation services to relocate to new offices the city was able to scrounge up.

This is the view from the fourth-floor conference room assigned to a mediation I attended yesterday. Talk about coping well in the face of adversity…

Throughout many parts of Europe, municipal chambers of commerce have long helped businesses resolve their disputes. Historically, they have provided arbitration services; more recently, and more frequently, they are adding mediation.

In broad terms, the chambers are structured according to two models, at least in the way there are perceived by parties.

In a country of [...]

Arbitral institutions must feel at times like the psychiatrist in the joke from Annie Hall:

A man goes to a psychiatrist and says, “my brother has a real problem. He thinks he’s a chicken.” The psychiatrist raises an eyebrow and says, “I see. Have you tried telling him that he isn’t a chicken?” The man answers, “I would… but we need the eggs.”

Parties to arbitration are part of our own problem. Naturally so, that’s why we’re in arbitration. We may view the other side as unreasonable or even crazy, and they may think the same about our side. So, given the choice between ad hoc or institutional proceedings, many of us prefer to have an institution manage the details of [...]

The new international survey on arbitral practices has just been released.

Now in its fourth iteration, the survey has come a long way since its inception in 2006 at the School of International Arbitration of Queen Mary, University of London. While the first three surveys purported to measure in-house counsel attitudes about arbitration and the enforcement of arbitral awards, this year’s survey questioned a broader group of stakeholders and seeks to answer questions about preferred practices.

Not just about in-house counsel anymore

With the support of lawyers from White & Case, the 2012 survey captured data from 710 respondents, a much larger sample than the school’s past surveys. And th [...]

LONDON OLYMPICS, August 1, 2012 — Badminton officials took the extraordinary step today of tossing out four teams for deliberately trying to lose their preliminary matches. The eight disciplined players were found to have conducted themselves “in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport.”

Imagine immediate (and less severe) consequences for behavior that is abusive and detrimental to the conduct of arbitral proceedings. Would this generate only protests, or also respect for institutions and arbitrators who show they have an Olympic backbone?

Here are some recent issues colleagues or acquaintences tell me they are facing with international arbitration, without (or with slightly altered) information that might identify a particular proceeding or party.
My own comments follow each. I invite readers to amplify with their own views on how to handle these situations, or compare with issues they are facing.

I recently received this note from a transactional lawyer who is engaged in a contract negotiation in Asia:
The customer’s terms and conditions specify dispute resolution before a local arbitration chamber, ABCD. We rejected this and offered instead a number of different options, both institutional and UNCITRAL arbitration.
We just [...]