Keith Clouse Cecilia Morgan Alyson Brown Karen Willcutts

Maximizing Arbitration Efficiencyand Effectiveness: Don’t TreatYour Arbitration Like the Courtroom Keith Clouse Cecilia Morgan Alyson Brown Karen Willcutts Dallas Bar Association Labor & Employment Section October 17, 2011

Panelists • Keith Clouse, Clouse Dunn LLP AAA Arbitrator/Mediator • Alyson Brown, Clouse Dunn LLP AAA Arbitrator/Mediator • Cecilia Morgan, JAMS Arbitrator/Mediator • Karen Willcutts, JAMS Arbitrator/Mediator Dallas County Civil Associate Judge, 2002-2004

From Mike Lynch Cartoons; originally appeared in Reader’s Digest.

Managing Costs • Parties Can Select Strategies to Impact Costs at Every Stage of Arbitration: • Arbitrator Selection • Management Conference • Discovery • Motion Practice • Briefing • Award

Arbitration Overview • Arbitration boundaries: • The parties’ arbitration agreement • Applicable statutes: • Federal Arbitration Act (9 USC §§1-16) • Texas Arbitration Act (TCPRC Chapter 171) • Admin. agency rules & procedures (e.g. AAA/JAMS) • The arbitrator’s authority derives primarily from the contractual agreement of the parties—draft wisely! • Nafta Traders, Inc. v. Quinn, 339 S.W.3d 84 (Tex. 2011)

Arbitration vs. Litigation • Major differences between arbitration & traditional judicial litigation: • Faster (usually—ideally!) • Somewhat less formal • No juries • Limited discovery (or sometimes no discovery) • Rules of evidence inapplicable • Fewer procedural requirements • Very broad arbitrator discretion • Variable form of award, usually at litigants’ option • Very limited grounds for appeal on substantive grounds

Arbitrator Selection • Arbitrator selection / appointment process: • Party appointed panels • Appointment from list(s) • Party agreement • $$$ Single Arbitrator vs. 3-Person Panel • Arbitrator disclosure requirements • ASAP - Provide list of parties, counsel, related entities, interested persons, likely witnesses • Ongoing supplementation & disclosure obligation – Parties and arbitrator • Parties’ failure to provide information can result in delays, reappointment

Management Conference • Parties can design arbitration to save costs while achieving fully developed case • Involve corporate representatives/in-house counsel • Scheduling Order • Discovery - $$$ Limit Depositions • Motions - $$$ Motion Practice limits • Document Exchange $$$ Informal, voluntary • Joint Exhibit Lists • Form of Award $$$ don’t require findings of fact/conclusions of law

Discovery • Don’t treat arbitration like traditional litigation • Informal, voluntary disclosures and document exchange • Limit number of requests, interrogatories • Depositions – limit number, duration • Shorten response deadlines • Electronic discovery • Address discovery disputes quickly

Motion Practice • Dispositive motions– use sparingly • Clear questions of law (e.g., statute of limitations) • Possible grounds to overturn award under FAA – failure to consider all relevant evidence • Significantly increases arbitrator’s study time – and parties’ $$$

Briefing • Address key points only—avoid “kitchen sink briefs” • If you’ve briefed it once, resist the temptation to brief it again • Attach key cases – highlighted • Replies, surreplies – enough is enough • Shorter is better—the more you write, the more it costs

Award • Form of award: simple, reasoned, detailed • Findings of Fact/Conclusions • Assist the arbitrator: • timeline • cast of characters • key documents • concise statement of claims and relief requested

Ethical Challenges • Pro se claimants • Spoliation • Civility/Professionalism • Informal doesn’t mean ex parte • Conflicts – multiple party representation

If I Could Tell Parties to Do orDon’t Do One Thing in Arbitration …. • Avoid Repetition – cumulative witnesses, documents, multiple briefs • Be Civil • Organize Exhibits – key docs, avoid duplicates • Provide Marked Deposition Excerpts – not the full deposition • Tell the arbitrator clearly what you’re asking for

Trends/Legislative Activity • Pending legislation—Arbitration Fairness Act reintroduced May 2011 (Sen. Franken) • Attacks on arbitration—still out there • Legislative Education – slowly working • Criticism of Arbitration – cost, time. It’s in the parties’ control!

“In fighting over the little problems, we often lose sight of the big ones!” --Danny Patel Published in Dispute Resolution Magazine, Summer 2010, by the American Bar Association.

Keith Clouse Cecilia Morgan Alyson Brown Karen Willcutts