Disputes are inevitable, and resolving disputes is expensive, inevitably. The national median time from filing to trial of civil cases in federal district courts was 27.2 months 2015. In 2015, only 56% of cases in arbitration were resolved prior to award, thus, more arbitrations proceeded to hearing than trials in court. Arbitration hearings and trials, and in particular, those involving complex construction disputes, often require weeks, or even months, to complete; involve claims that may have arisen over a period of years; require the review and organization of voluminous electronic and paper documents, and the testimony of numerous fact and expert witnesses. Current market challenges associated with complex construction disputes resolution include containing e-discovery costs, the increasing perception (or reality) that arbitration costs rival those of litigation, accurately projecting the expected costs of litigation and forecasting the likely result. The changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and AAA Construction Industry Rules should, over time, help to reduce certain costs associated with e-discovery. However, contractors and their counsel are looking for additional ways to manage the costs and time necessary to resolve disputes. Our panel of in-house counsel for key industry players and senior outside counsel will discuss the innovative ways that they are approaching the resolution of the complex/bet the company dispute to make better strategic decisions and to ensure that ADR, and litigation, are set up for the most success.
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:
- Understand the challenges associated with the resolution of complex and bet the company disputes.
- Understand the ways in which general counsel for A/Es, ENR 400 contractors and outside counsel assess and select among the available forms of ADR in the complex or bet the company case.
- Understand the ways in which general counsel for A/Es, ENR 400 contractors and outside counsel have identified innovative ways to forecast and control litigation/ADR costs and results.