Chairing an Arbitration - Chapter 17 - AAA Handbook on Arbitration Practice - Second Edition

Author(s):

Judith B. Ittig

Michael J. Bayard

Page Count:

12 pages

Media Description:

1 PDF Download

Published:

December, 2015

Author Detail:

Michael J. Bayard is a full-time construction arbitrator, mediator and project neutral. He chairs the AAA's Construction Advisory Subcommittee for the Los Angeles Region and teaches a graduate course in construction management at the University of Southern California, where he is an adjunct professor. He was recently named to the AAA's National Construction Master Arbitrator Roster.

Judith Ittig serves on the AAA's commercial arbitrator panel, the ICDR's commercial
arbitrator panel, and the AAA's Construction Mega Project Panel. Mrs. Ittig, an attorney
at Ittig & Ittig, P.C. based in Washington, DC, is a Fellow of the American College of
Construction Lawyers, a Chartered Arbitrator/Fellow of the Chartered Institute of
Arbitrators (London), and a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators.

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Originally from:

AAA Handbook on Arbitration Practice - Second Edition

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CHAPTER 17

CHAIRING AN ARBITRATION

Judith B. Ittig and Michael J. Bayard

I. Introduction

We have each chaired many arbitration panels, and in one very large,

multi-party case, one of us (Judith) was an arbitrator on a tribunal that

the other (Mike) chaired. Mike is located in Los Angeles and Judith

lives and works in Washington, D.C. Working together at a long distance

from each other required special attention to case management among

the three arbitrators. That experience, along with our separate work as

chairs of other panels, led us to offer our perspectives on the unique role

of a panel chair. This article contains our shared thinking about how to

manage the responsibilities of chairing an arbitration.

The panel chair is the leader and the voice of the panel. However, the

chair has no more authority than the other arbitrators do to decide the

dispute. To be effective, the chair must treat the co-arbitrators with a

high level of respect. The chair’s job is to manage, not usurp, the

authority of the other arbitrators. What follows is our vision of how a

panel chair should act from the time of appointment through the signing

and delivery of the award.

II. Working Effectively as a Panel

A. Style of Arbitrating

Each arbitrator on a panel has his or her own professional style for

managing the hearings. For a panel to work effectively together, there

should be a congruence of styles, with agreement on how the arbitration

will be conducted. For example, should the arbitrators agree to hold their

questions of witnesses until after the attorneys have completed their

questioning? Should they discuss the case as the hearings progress?

Should the panel meet informally on a daily basis to review how the

arbitration is progressing? These matters should be raised by the chair at

the outset so the panel can work comfortably as a team.