Overview

This seminar familiarizes participants with alternative methods of dispute resolution (ADR). The first part of the seminar introduces participants to the goals and techniques of mediation; the second half focuses on the legal issues involved in international commercial arbitration. The emphasis throughout is on the development of practical skills through lectures and hands-on exercises.

Format

The seminars are currently offered both in-person and online simultaneously, at the choice of the participant. This choice must be indicated at the time of registration. A small number of courses are scheduled to be delivered exclusively in person or online, and are indicated as such in the 2024 schedule. In-Person Only seminars usually start at 9:30 am Washington D.C. time. Daily sessions usually end at 4:00 pm. Breaks (including the lunch break) are allocated as appropriate. Online Only seminars will be delivered through five (for 1-week course) or ten (for 2-weeks course) live online sessions via videoconferencing platform. Each session will last approximately 3.5 hours and will be scheduled to start within a time window of 7:00 am – 8:30 am Washington D.C. time. Hybrid In-Person/Online seminars will start at a time most convenient to both in-person and online participants, and will generally follow the In-Person seminar format. We expect the classes to be highly interactive and can include presentations, case studies and exercises.

Course Outline

Pros and Cons of International ADR

• Conciliation, arbitration and mediation versus litigation in domestic courts
• Arbitration between private parties and governments

The Negotiation Process

• Approaches to negotiation: creating value vs. claiming value; structuring a deal vs. resolving a dispute
• Assessing the interests of the parties
• Opening offers
• Strategic concessions
• Why negotiations fail
• Breaking deadlock
• Negotiating a dispute resolution clause

How Mediation Works: Tools and Principles

• Mediation defined
• Why mediation
• Roles and attributes of a mediator
• Changing patterns of communication
• Intervention principles
• Listening and questioning skills
• Stages in mediation
• Problem identification
• Agreement writing

The Role of Advocate and Litigant

• Preparing for mediation
• Devising a settlement strategy
• Advocating for your client
• Guiding and managing your client during mediation

Legal Issues in International Arbitration

• National Arbitration Laws; Treaties, including the New York Convention and ICSID Convention; Choice of law
• Validity and scope arbitration agreements
• Role of the courts: judicial review and enforcement of awards; judicial assistance in the arbitration process
• Investment disputes
• Sovereign immunity

The Arbitral Process

• Designing the process: drafting the arbitration clause
• Choosing arbitration rules
• Conduct of proceedings: initiating arbitration, constituting the tribunal, establishing terms of reference, production of documentary evidence, interim relief, submitting testimony, hearings, and awards
• Arbitrator ethics and challenges to arbitrators
• Simulated international arbitration exercise

Course Advisor

Anne Marie Whitesell is a Professor and Faculty Director of the Program on International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at Georgetown University Law Center and Director of the ILI Center on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Ms. Whitesell was Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration from 2001 to 2007. She has practiced with law firms in both the United States and in France and was a lecturer at the Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne and the Institut de Droit Comparé (Université de Paris II). She is admitted to the New York State Bar, the Bar of the District of Columbia, and to the US District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.