S. International Commercial Arbitration Practice

This seminar will have students explore, via role-playing and class discussion, the procedural life-cycle of an international commercial arbitration, using an actual landmark international commercial arbitration as a base case study. It begins with the drafting of an arbitration agreement and moves through each phase of the arbitral process, including: preparation of the substantive pleadings, constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the initial case management conference with the arbitral tribunal, jurisdictional issues including non-signatory party and consolidation issues, discovery and document disclosure, hearings on the merits, arbitrator deliberations and the final award. Students will consider the perspectives of different participants in the arbitral process--party, counsel (partner and associate), arbitrator and arbitral institution--on each stage of the process. Students will take the lead, on a rotating basis each week, introducing and role-playing the stage of the process explored in each class. A final seminar paper proposing "Best Practices" with respect to a practical procedural issue of the student's choice (chosen in consultation with the professor) is required.