Arbitration & Mediation Services
Archived Article
Written 10/02/14
I AM YOUR ARBITRATOR. By Phil Cutler © Philip E. Cutler 2014
HERE IS WHAT TO EXPECT FROM ME
. . . AND WHAT I EXPECT FROM YOU.
I have been a trial lawyer for over 40 years. Over the last 30 years, service as an arbitrator, special master and pro tem judge has become an increasingly important and significant part of my practice. My experience as a lawyer and arbitrator has taught me much, most especially that: parties to a dispute choose arbitration for the advantages it has over traditional civil litigation, particularly (1) an early opportunity to present their evidence and get a resolution and (2) a process that minimizes the most expensive phase of litigation – discovery, parties to a dispute, and their lawyers, need and want information about how the decision-maker manages cases and conducts the dispute resolution process, and the decision-maker is best able to carry out his or her role – and the parties and their counsel are most comfortable with the fundamental fairness and integrity of the process – if the decision-maker manages the process fairly and efficiently.
With these principles in mind, and mindful that information about how individual arbitrators conduct proceedings is hard to come by – and in any event generally anecdotal – in the late 1990s I set about to summarize my arbitration philosophy and the principles which govern my management of cases, essentially what I expect from the lawyers who appear before me . . . and what they may expect from me. In my experience, most arbitrators in commercial cases manage their cases in the same fashion, and have similar expectations of themselves and counsel.
WHAT YOU MAY EXPECT FROM ME
Preparation: I will have read everything that has been sent or made available to me (or to the Case Manager for transmittal to me) relevant to any matter that is before me.
Adherence to schedules: I will do my utmost to adhere to any scheduled case event, and will schedule other matters so as not to interfere with those events.
Timely action: I will respond promptly to requests for my action.
Principled decision-making: I will do my best to follow a rigorous and principled decision-making process.
WHAT I EXPECT FROM YOU
Preparation: I expect you to be prepared for any hearing – preliminary or otherwise – and, if I’ve asked you to confer with opposing counsel, expect that you will have done so. I also expect you to be familiar with the rules governing your arbitration and any authority relevant to any matter that may come before me.
Adherence to schedules: Deadlines I set are not aspirational, they are firm and directive and I expect you to meet them. If for some extraordinary reason you cannot meet a deadline, I expect you to let me know as soon as possible, giving me reason why the deadline should be changed.
...Want to know more? Read the full Article here.
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