10 Ways to Make Arbitration Faster, Better, and Cheaper

Copyright © 2015 John DeGroote Services, LLC

10 Ways to Make Arbitration

Faster, Better, and Cheaper

JAN 23, 2015

TexasBarCLE • Alternative Dispute Resolution Course • Austin

John DeGroote • Lionel M. Schooler

Copyright © 2015 John DeGroote Services, LLC 2

1. Control the Process

• Be proactive

from the start

• Be specific about

what you want

• Write a clause

that works

“ “Control your own

destiny, or someone

else will.

- Jack Welch


2. Eliminate the Outlier

3

• Constrain the

process

• Time

• Scope

• Limit damages

• Exclude remedies

• Limit your

arbitrator’s

authority


3. Pick a Better Arbitrator

4

• Agree in advance

• To an arbitrator

• To a process

• Do your

homework

• What do you

know about her…

• Expertise?

• Approach?

• Efficiency?

• Integrity?


4. Get a Scheduling Order that Works

5

• It’s not litigation

• The dispute

is narrow

• Discovery can

be tailored

• e-Discovery can

be limited


5. Present Evidence More Efficiently

6

• Do you need

direct

testimony?

• Can your

arbitrator read

depo excerpts?

• Will evidence

summaries

work?


6. Appoint Three Arbitrators as a Check

7

• There’s safety

in numbers

• Three heads are

better than one

• A substitute

for appeals?

• But…


7. Recognize that 3 > (3 x 1)

8

• Three sets

of fees

• Three schedules

• …and the work

expands to fill

the time

• Debate takes

time


8. Pick Better Facilities

• Wi-Fi

• War rooms

• White boards

• Copiers

• Airport access

• Witness

convenience

• Caliber of

hotel/amenities


9. Keep the Client Involved

• Part of the

solution, or part

of the problem?

• Visibility into

delays, costs,

and more

• What’s the

incremental

value of another

deposition?


10. Build in an Appellate Procedure

11

• Appeals within

arbitration

aren’t new

• But they’re a

function of

your agreement

• And the record

must support

them


10 Ways to Make Arbitration Faster, Better, and Cheaper

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