Arbitration: Faster, cheaper, interminable.

Business executives expect arbitration to finish much faster than their
lawyers do. Not surprising. What is surprising is how far apart those
expectations are. In IDN 66, GE Europe in-house counsel Mike McIlwrath asks,
if managers and lawyers can’t agree on how long arbitration should last,
whose expectations should govern?

McIlwrath polled board room types, in-house counsel, and outside attorneys
on how long a $5-10 million arbitration of medium complexity should take.
Outside attorneys generally answered that a typical case should take 9
months and an expedited case should take about 6 months. A gathering of less
optimistic in-house litigation attorneys at GE said 1-2 years for an
ordinary arbitration, 3-9 months for an expedited case. Meanwhile, business
people sampled at a Doha airport seemed to agree that a normal case should
take about 2 months and an expedited case should last a month or less.

The results of McIlwrath’s poll are on his newest podcast, “As Long as a
Piece of String’: Timing Expectations in International Arbitration,” part of
his award-winning interview series on International Dispute Negotiation
sponsored by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention &
Resolution, or CPR.