ABA Dispute Resolution Committee

Drafting Cross-Border Deals: John Levitske moderates a discussion among corporate counsel and private attorneys on how transactional attorneys need to be aware of risks if enforcement in drafting cross-border deals.

The first judge in the first business court with statewide jurisdiction talks about the techniques he used in prompting early settlement, the utility of separating complex business cases from other cases on the general docket, and the obstacles to early settlement of commercial disputes.

Lord Harry Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, discusses the "Woolf Reforms" and how they changed the way the courts in England handle civil disputes. His conclusion: The duty of a court is primarily to assist the parties to conclude their dispute without waste or delay.

Deal Lawyers have unique training, experience and perspectives on negotiation. Too often, these talents are restricted to the "front end" of a deal. Hear about opportunities for deal lawyers to add value to clients, expand their practice, and derive professional satisfaction from dispute management and resolution.

This panel will discuss how certain practices will result in an expeditious and cost effective arbitration process. Issues to be discussed will include the active participation of in-house counsel, arbitrator selection, the use and timing of mediation, limits on discovery, management of the arbitration, and the ability to seek sanctions. Speakers include Fred G. Bennett, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Sullivan LLP and Harold Coleman, Mediation.org.

Prof. Thomas Stipanowich and a panel of corporate counsel discuss the recent survey of Fortune 1000 companies, indicating that arbitration is disfavored and that the use mediation in business disputes is on the rise.

Dick Pound, former Olympian and longtime member of the IOC, WADA, CAS and other sports bodies, explains the background, objectives, and procedures for dispute resolution in sports, and how notions of due process have been injected into an endeavor in which decisions can often be subjective and injurious to athletes' careers.

Panel discussion on planned early negotiation, how lawyers can serve their clients through early settlement efforts, address company protocols that aim to reduce cost by prompting early assessment and management of litigation risks, while maintaining a thriving business through innovative billing methods.

From the world's foremost experts on Mass Disaster Settlements, an in-depth discussion of some of the most talked about events in recent history, their impact on the victims, the legal machinations and processes that led to resolution, and the complex methodologies for determining who gets what, and the consequences.

Business conflict resolution and management, and new tools to help companies prevent, manage and resolve business-to-business disputes.