David K. Taylor | Buildsmart
There’s a great argument that lawyer advocacy in an arbitration is more essential than at a trial in court. This is the last post of the 10 most horrible, terrible, no good, “bang your head against the door” mistakes that I have seen lawyers make in arbitrations, both when I served as counsel and as an arbitrator. Agreeing to arbitrate a dispute, whether in a contract or by agreement, is a serious decision for any business. There are pros and cons to binding arbitration versus trial in a court that go beyond a series of blog posts, but the fact is that when a dispute is arbitrated, finality is the rule. It is very difficult to appeal an arbitration award. In many instances, representing a party in an arbitration requires more due diligence and work than a trial. Great “arbitration” lawyering is therefore essential but… sometimes does not happen.
No. 10: Not Looking for Ways to Make Your Arbitrator Happy at the End of a Hearing
Prior to the time that the proof in an arbitration is formally “closed” and you pack up your bankers boxes and thank the arbitrator (and are gracious to your adversary), think through how you can help the arbitrator make a well-informed award. Especially with an arbitration where there are scores of claims (such as change orders, each of which may be factually complicated) and defenses, remember that while you may have lived with the dispute for years, the arbitrator only has her notes and the (many times) voluminous exhibit books. Depending on your working relationship with opposing counsel, they have the same general goal when the hearing ends: Make sure the arbitrator understands each sides’ claims and defenses.
Therefore, be creative. Would post-hearing “summaries” that link up specific issues or claims to witnesses and exhibits be helpful, even if you work with opposing counsel to do so? If there are claims for the recovery of legal fees (such as who is the “prevailing party”) and allocation of arbitration costs (which can be significant and include the arbitrator’s compensation), while you should have determined prior to the hearing how the arbitrator wants to handle such claims, ask for direction. Are your damages clear and unambiguous and have they remained unchanged from when the hearing began? Many times, during the hearing, claims and defenses are modified/revised/withdrawn. What about proposing the submittal of a Word document or Excel spreadsheet that lists the claims and amounts sought with a blank space for what will be awarded on that claim? Most arbitrators want to and will address every “claim” in the written award and want to be 100% clear on the relief sought.
While most arbitrators do not want formal post-hearing briefs that address every single issue, it may help to offer to submit a short and to-the-point summary of your damages. Sometimes there are pure legal (such as contract clause interpretation) issues that were raised for the first time in the hearing. If you are unclear or unsure that the arbitrator understands your position on such issues, offer to submit a short memorandum or even an email. Do remember that whatever is submitted (under most arbitration rules) the time frame for the issuance of an award (typically 30 days from the close of the hearing) does not formally begin until all “post-hearing” filings have been submitted.
The bottom line is this: If you were the arbitrator, what would you want from counsel to make your final decisions and the award easier to write? Especially in a dispute where there may be scores of issues and claims, any post-hearing efforts or offers to the arbitrator to make her job easier will win you brownie points; hopefully increase your and your client’s credibility; and will pay off in the final result.
Finally, since this is the last of the top 10 posts, thank you for all of the great feedback I have received from readers all over the country, including a number of suggestions and recommendations from full-time arbitrators. One suggestion I recently implemented in an arbitration where I served as counsel was well received by the arbitration panel. For the 10 jointly created exhibit books, instead of putting them all in typical black binders, we used different color binders for each book. It saved time for all involved by being able to ask a witness or the panel arbitrator to turn to the “green” binder.