The View From an International Arbitration Customer: In Dire Need of Early Resolution

Roland Schroeder, Legal Counsel, GE, UK
Michael McIlwrath, Legal Counsel, GE, UK

In-house lawyers live in a world where every day the practice of law directly interfaces with the operation of a business. Within this world, the focus is not just on winning but on advancing the overall commercial needs and objectives. If the company prevails in a dispute but the commercial goals are not advanced - and advanced in a timely fashion - then we have still fallen short in the eyes of the business. The same lesson applies to our outside counsel and to the institutions who oversee the arbitration process. As a consequence, we believe that international arbitration institutions and professionals should be more mindful of the goals and objectives of businesses that are the customers of dispute resolution services.