Practical Problems Confronting the Practicing Lawyer

(which permit parties to be represented by counsel, as a matter of right), the parties are represented by counsel. In many of the remaining 20 per cent, the amount involved would not have warranted the expense of counsel if the dispute had been litigated at law. Arbitration benefits the lawyer-have no doubt about that. The lawyer's time is saved and his convenience is served by arbitration. There is no time-consuming procedure of attending calendar calls, waiting for the previous case to be finished, picking juries, and preliminary motions and appeals. The fee of the lawyer in arbitrations not only is at a much higher rate for the time actually spent, as opposed to court actions, but generally is as much in dollars and cents. The disposition of an arbitration in a comparatively short time assures the lawyer that the evidence and witnesses will be available, that a debtor will not have the usual lengthy period while a court action is pending to dispose of his assets and prevent collection of the claim, and that the controversy will be disposed of quickly and the lawyer's fee paid. The clause in a contract providing for arbitration of future disputes (or the submission entered into after a dispute has arisen) is the mainspring of arbitration, and from that clause and the procedure outlined in it or supplemented by the basic law or chosen by reference to the rules of an association, chamber of commerce or trade group, there will follow good, bad, or indifferent results. Merely providing for arbitration is not enough. There are pitfalls which must be avoided and experience serves as a guide. Uppermost in the mind of the lawyer, both from the standpoint of his client and himself, is whether his client will be entitled, as a matter of right, to be represented by counsel at the arbitration hearing. Some trade groups limit or effectively prevent such right of representation by counsel in arbitrations conducted under their rules. Before the client signs a contract or submission which provides for arbitration under the rules of a designated tribunal, it is, therefore, necessary to examine its rules. The Rules of the American Arbitration Association and, generally speaking, the rules of chambers of commerce provide that parties are entitled as a