1. Key Practical and Ethical Issues for Commercial Arbitrators: Insights from a New Study of Experienced Arbitrators
Thomas J. Stipanowich
William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution & Professor of Law
Academic Director, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution
©2015 Thomas J. Stipanowich . All rights reserved.

2. The following slides are taken from: “Living with ADR: Perceptions and Use of Mediation, Arbitration and Conflict Management in Fortune 1,000 Corporations” by Thomas J. Stipanowich & Ryan J. Lamare  May be downloaded at the following link:

3. Reasons companies do not use arbitration 1997 and 2011 (commercial disputes)

4. Reasons companies do not use arbitration 1997 and 2011 (commercial disputes)

5. Reasons companies do not use arbitration 1997 and 2011 (commercial disputes)

6. “Arbitration is often unsatisfactory because litigators have been given the keys to run the arbitration and they run it exactly like a piece of litigation. It’s the corporate counsel’s fault by simply turning over the keys to a matter.”
Jeffrey W. Carr
Vice President & General Counsel
FMC Technologies, Inc.

7. “[I]f you simply provide for arbitration under [standard rules] without specifying in more detail how discovery will be handled you will end up with a proceeding similar to litigation.”
James Bender,General Counsel,
Williams Companies

8. “I’m here to tell you that
“I’m here to tell you that our current experience is that we are getting quicker and more cost-effective results in U.S. courts!”
Corporate counsel
for a leading global corporation

9. The following slides are taken from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution / College of Commercial Arbitrators Survey on Arbitration Practice (2013) as presented in Arbitration in Evolution: Current Practices and Perspectives of Experienced Commercial Arbitrators (with Zachary P. Ulrich), 25 American J. on Int’l Arb. 395 (2015) available at SSRN:

10. Gender

11. Professional background

12. Experience with Streamlined or “Fast Track” Procedures

13. Experience as Sole Arbitrator Have you ever served as a sole arbitrator in a case involving disputes?

14. Managing Discovery As an arbitrator, how often do you do the following with respect to discovery in arbitration?

15. Managing Discovery

16. Managing Discovery

17. Managing Discovery As an arbitrator, how often do you do the following with respect to discovery in arbitration?

18. Handling Dispositive Motions As an arbitrator, how often do you do the following in handling motions for summary disposition?

19. Handling Dispositive Motions As an arbitrator, how often do you do the following in handling motions for summary disposition?

20. Hearings: Common Practices among Experienced Arbitrators

21. Settlement Before Award

22. Informal Settlement As an arbitrator, how often do you do each of the following with respect to informal settlement of the cases before you?

23. Informal Settlement As an arbitrator, how often do you do each of the following with respect to informal settlement of the cases before you?

24. Informal Settlement As an arbitrator, how often do you do each of the following with respect to informal settlement of the cases before you?

25. Rendering Arbitration Awards

26. Rendering Arbitration Awards

27. Rendering Arbitration Awards

28. Negotiation During Award Deliberations

29. Tripartite Panels with Arbitrators Appointed by Individual Parties

30. Tripartite Panels with Arbitrators Appointed by Individual Parties

31. Percentage of Working Hours as Arbitrator

32. more than 70% of their work time is devoted to mediation practice!
What percentage of your work time, if any, is currently devoted to practice as a mediator? International Academy of Mediators – Straus Survey (2014)
More than 70% say that
more than 70% of their work time is devoted to mediation practice!

33. Amount of Arbitration Work

34. Percentage of Work Time Dedicated to Mediation Practice

35. Early Neutral Evaluation, Early Case Assessment

36. International Cases Arbitrated as Percent of Practice (Prior to 5 Years Ago)

37. Number of International Cases Arbitrated as Percent of Practice (Last 5 Years)

38. For an Analysis of These Data See:
Reflections on the State and Future of Commercial Arbitration: Challenges, Opportunities, Proposals, 25 American Journal on International Arbitration 297 (2015), available at SSRN:
Commercial Arbitration and Settlement: Empirical Insights into the Roles Arbitrators Play, 6 Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation 1 (2014) (with Zachary P. Ulrich) , available at SSRN: