Originally from Between East and West: Essays in Honour of Ulf Franke

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I. INTRODUCTION

Writing about Ulf Franke and his jubilee is an exceptional honor. Sweden is a great country. It has many excellent lawyers and arbitrators who are a real pleasure to meet. However, when Swedish delegates appear at an arbitration conference, it is impossible not to look around and ask “Where is Ulf?” Somehow, Ulf is the best-known of all those Svensons out there (as we Poles tenderly refer to our Swedish friends). We have known him for 35 years. It goes without saying, then, that whenever he is absent, we feel disappointed. Recently he confided in me that he would finally have the time to deal with arbitration! May he live a long life, then.

There are people who have devoted their whole professional life to arbitration. There are many people who are actively engaged in doing it and even more who wish to come on board. Young people dream of becoming arbitrators. They are producing a great deal of M.A. theses, Ph.D. dissertations, and articles on arbitration. What is the driving force behind their determination?

II. IT IS NOT EASY TO START OUT AS AN ARBITRATOR

Arbitrators are late starters. Actually, it is hard to start out as an arbitrator. At first, you have to establish yourself as a barrister, solicitor, judge, academic, diplomat, businessman, politician, or expert. It is only later in life that you become an arbitrator. Meanwhile, young legal eagles are champing at the bit. They are dying to get their first case. A rude awakening comes at the first interview, when they have to field these brutal questions: “How often have you acted as an arbitrator?” “How many awards have you made?” “What is your experience with arbitration?”

The young hopefuls are stumped for an answer. Imagine a patient asking a budding orthopedist eager for his first knee operation: “How many knee operations have you conducted, Doctor?” If the flustered doctor says “Not even one, but I’d love to make a start,” the patient will go to see a real specialist, preferably one with more than 100 knee operations to his name. What should you do to get the first case?