How to Save Time & Money in Arbitration - Users Speak Up - Dispute Resolution Journal - Vol. 57, No. 3
PARTICIPANTS
David B. Kosakoff is a partner with L’Abbate, Balkan, Colavita & Contini. The firm handles a great deal of construction litigation, representing primarily design professional analysis. Mr. Kosakoff has been an advocate both for claimants and respondents in arbitration.
Rona G. Shamoon is a senior litigator in the international arbitration group at Skadden Arps. She has served as an advocate for parties in international and domestic commercial arbitrations and spends considerable time drafting and negotiating dispute resolution agreements.
Lori L. Pines is a partner in the litigation department at Weil, Gotsahl & Manges. She has been an advocate on behalf of both claimants and respondents in various commercial matters in both domestic and international cases.
Lani A. Adler is a partner in the NY firm Becker, Glynn, Melamed & Muffly. Until recently, she had her own practice for 10 years.
Gerard Romski is from Ross & Cohen.
Richard Raysman is from Brown Raysman Millstein Felder and Steiner.
Claire Gutekunst is a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department at Proskauer Rose.
Joseph L. Forstadt is a litigation partner at Strock Strock & Lavan. Aside from representing parties in arbitration, he has served as an arbitrator in the Eastern District of New York Federal Court.
Stephen P. Younger is a commercial litigator with Patterson Belkamp Webb and Tyler, and heads the firm’s ADR practice group.
Thomas Munno is a partner at Deckert Price and Rhoads. He is a commercial litigator, and also represents both plaintiffs and respondents in arbitrations.
Agnes Wilson, AAA, Moderator.
Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal
Attorneys, advocates, and other users of ADR processes are sharing their best practices and most successful strategies in preparing for arbitration and mediation in a series of roundtable discussions sponsored by the American Arbitration Association.
The roundtable series, spearheaded by AAA Senior Vice President India Johnson, kicked off in San Diego on May 30, 2002. The second roundtable was held on June 12 in New York City. Each forum raised basic questions about preparing and presenting claims in arbitration. Participants discussed best practices used during the ADR process. For many participants, it begins with drafting an effective ADR clause. How specific should the language be? What types of limitations should it have? Should it include a mediation step before arbitration? The consensus: a carefully drafted clause that anticipates future needs helps to avoid pitfalls and saves parties time and money.
Participants compared presentation techniques used when appearing before an expert arbitrator as opposed to presenting a similar claim before a judge or a jury. They shared their experiences in using the latest technology to help them drive home a point during an arbitration hearing. Most of the participants agreed that there is more flexibility in using technology before an arbitrator than there is inside a courtroom.
Finally the group discussed the advantages and disadvantages of requesting a reasoned arbitration award. It was generally agreed that choosing a reasoned award over a brief one-line decision depends on the type of dispute involved and a party’s interest in filing an appeal.
Two more roundtables are scheduled to be held this year, in Miami and Cleveland. Once all four of the roundtables have been conducted, significant information derived from the discussions will be collated and categorized and made available to the public.
The following is a transcript of the New York roundtable, which was moderated by Robert Williams, the AAA’s New York regional vice president, and Agnes Wilson, division vice president, Northeast. The participants are practicing attorneys affiliated with law firms in New York.