Act III - The Preliminary Hearing to Organize the Arbitration Procedure - WAMR 2010 Vol. 4, No. 4-5

Originally from: 

World Arbitration and Mediation Review (WAMR) - 2010 Vol. 4, No. 4-5

To view full journal at the Subscription rate:

World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR) (US Price)

World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR) (Intl Price)

Preview Page

ACT III — THE PRELIMINARY HEARING TO ORGANIZE THE
ARBITRATION PROCEDURE
INTRODUCTION TO ACT III

Jean Kalicki, Workshop Co-Chair

My name is Jean Kalicki, and I have the great challenge of
welcoming you back from Jan Paulsson's very provocative
luncheon remarks, and introducing the final Act in this year's saga
of TorGas and Drill-BD. Before I do, a word of thanks to the two
wonderful scriptwriters who worked on this Act: Suzana
Medeiros Blades and Bonard Molina Garcia. Without their hard
work, the Act III faculty would be, quite literally, speechless.

As Act III opens, the parties are now scheduled to attend a
preliminary hearing in the arbitration. This is the first
opportunity for the clients and their counsel to try to frame the
procedure in light of their respective strategic objectives for the
case, and also for the arbitrators to establish their own rhythm as
a panel, while shaping the proceedings as they consider
appropriate.

The Act is divided into three scenes:

• First, TorGas' in-house counsel, played by Carmen
Tiburcio, meets with outside arbitration counsel, played by
Eduardo Siqueiros, to discuss strategies for the
preliminary hearing. TorGas' main goal is to expedite the
proceedings, in the hope that an early award in its favor
will deflect mounting criticism in Torvia of TorGas' own
performance.

• In the second scene, a similar meeting is taking place
across the ocean, between Drill-BD's in-house counsel,
played by Ann Ryan Robertson, and outside counsel,
played by James Hosking. Drill-BD hopes to focus the
arbitrators from the outset on the role of the Torvian
government in causing delays.

• In both Scenes 1 and 2, we see a gradual process by which
outside counsel work to moderate their client's respective

JEAN E. KALICKI is a Partner at Arnold & Porter LLP,
specializing in international arbitration, and teaches as an
adjunct professor at both Georgetown University Law
Center and American University Washington College of
Law. In investment treaty arbitration, she has represented
both sovereigns and investors in disputes before ICSID,
and in commercial arbitration, she has represented
companies on five continents, as well as the United
Nations, in disputes before the ICC, AAA/ICDR, and ad hoc tribunals under
the UNCITRAL Rules. Selected by Global Arbitration Review as one of the top
30 Women in Arbitration worldwide, Ms. Kalicki has served as an arbitrator
(chair, sole, and party-appointed) in both investment and commercial
arbitrations, and is a frequent author and speaker on arbitration topics. She
is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration (U.S. National Committee),
the Chair of the U.S. Council for International Business’ Arbitration
Subcommittee for Washington, D.C., and the Chair of the DC Bar’s
International Dispute Resolution Committee.