Page 33 - Expert Witness

Phase Phase or Activity Description Practitioner’s Potential Services
Agreement to Arbitrate
Arbitration is a voluntary process. Parties to a
contract often include an arbitration clause to  Case management
provide a quick and cost-effective method to
resolve future disputes. The arbitration clause  Case strategy (consulting expert only)
may include, among other items, the name of
the organization to administer the arbitration
proceedings, the required qualifications for the
arbitrators and the locale in which arbitration
hearings will take place. Depending on the ad-
ministering organization, a copy of the arbitra-
tion clause may be required when completing a
formal agreement to arbitrate.

However, even if the parties failed to include an
arbitration clause in the contract, many organi-
zations will agree to administer arbitration if
both parties agree in writing.
Selection of the Arbitrators The parties mutually select the arbitrators. Arbi-
trators have experience and knowledge from a  Review resumes of potential arbitrators
wide variety of disciplines. While not a re-
quirement, many arbitrators are attorneys or
former judges.  Develop interview questions for poten-
tial arbitrators (if allowed)
Preliminary Hearing The parties and the arbitrators will meet to dis-
cuss the case and to establish a schedule which  Case strategy (consulting expert only)
will serve as a roadmap for the arbitration. The
schedule will set the dates for the arbitration
hearing and will provide deadlines for the filing  Case assessment
of preliminary briefs, the exchange of docu-
ments and reports, and the disclosure of witness
lists.
Preparation for Arbitration Based upon the schedule agreed upon at the
Hearing preliminary hearing, the parties will exchange  Case strategy (consulting expert only)
information and will file documents with the
arbitrators. At the conclusion of this phase, both
parties should be prepared to present their case  Case assessment
at the arbitration hearing.
 Assistance in preparation of briefs

 Drafting of document requests

 Document, data, and evidence identifi-
cation, recovery, analysis, and man-
agement

 Preparation of expert report

 Analysis and rebuttal of opposing ex-
pert report

 Arbitration hearing preparation

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