Originally from: The Leading Arbitrators' Guide to International Arbitration - 2nd Edition - Hardcover
The Leading Arbitrators' Guide to International Arbitration - 2nd Edition - Electronic
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Advocacy in International Arbitration
C. Mark Baker
I. INTRODUCTION
The importance of advocacy is not a recent development. Well
before the days of the New York Convention, good advocacy was
the cornerstone of persuasion and dispute resolution throughout the
world. The great orators of the Roman Empire used oral advocacy to
advance their political agendas in the Roman Senate and to resolve
legal disputes before the Roman courts. The eloquent barristers of
early England argued before lay juries to advance their clients’
interests, as did the first great American jury trial lawyers. Even the
Prophet Mohammed, far away from the legal traditions of the
Americas and Europe, used his charisma and command of language
to arbitrate disputes among Arabic tribes. All of these individuals,
from different backgrounds, appreciated that good advocacy skills
were a key part of successful dispute resolution.
In today’s world of high-stakes international controversies, the
importance of advocacy has never been greater. Large sums of
money and the interests of major organizations and governments
regularly ride on the outcome of an international arbitration. In
addition, highly complex legal theories are often advanced along with
comprehensive prayers for relief that would have been unthinkable
only a few years ago. This Chapter is designed to show that in
international arbitration, good advocacy begins not with the oral
presentations at the final merits hearing, but at the outset of the
dispute and continues through each aspect of the matter through the
final award or settlement.
In the modern international arbitration era, the concept of
effective advocacy encompasses many sets of skills – oral skills,
analytical skills, written skills, negotiation skills, interpersonal skills,
and organizational skills. Achieving a command of these disparate
advocacy skills requires natural talents, the right opportunities, tireless
practice, and consistent experience. Add to this the myriad cultures,
customs, traditions, languages, and rules that interact regularly in the
international arbitration context, and the result is that complete
advocacy at a high level is something that comes to a legal
practitioner over time, not overnight.
Mark Baker is a Senior Partner in the Houston office of Fulbright & Jaworski, where he practices in the areas of complex commercial arbitrations, business litigation, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). He is co-head both of Fulbright’s International Department and of the firm’s Arbitration and ADR Practice Group. Mr. Baker has advised the United States delegation to UNCITRAL on the United Nations’ revisions to both the Arbitration Rules and Model Arbitration Law (2006). He is Vice Chairman of the International Bar Association (IBA) Committe on International Arbitration, a Member of the International Advisory Committee of the American Arbitration Association, and a Member of the LCIA Arbitration Court.
