During his 40 years as a labor arbitrator, Roger Abrams has been appointed to resolve over 2,500 disputes. This insightful and authoritative treatise, Inside Arbitration: How an Arbitrator Decides Labor and Employment Cases, tackles the topic of labor arbitration from the perspective of the arbitrator. Abrams reveals how the decision maker, the arbitrator, goes about actually deciding a case.
Presented in Q&A format, Abrams shares extremely practical guidance on more than 450 real-world questions, such as:
How does the typical labor arbitrator selection process operate? What types of disclosures by the arbitrator are appropriate to reveal conflict, bias, or predisposition? How does an arbitrator react to the conduct of the parties at the hearing? Is it ever appropriate to have contact with the arbitrator before the hearing? Does the arbitrator do anything differently with a really big case–for example, a case with potential exposure of over $1 million? What kind of documents will an arbitrator find useful? What do arbitrators want to hear in opening statements? What is the impact of opening statements? How do arbitrators prefer exhibits to be marked and offered into evidence? Has a party’s brief ever persuaded an arbitrator to reach a different conclusion after the hearing itself has concluded? If so, what are some of the persuasive factors? How does the arbitrator determine what the appropriate remedy is? How does an arbitrator deal with ambiguity in contract language? What should an advocate do if he or she thinks arbitrators are generally wrong on a particular issue? Should the arbitrator, in rendering his or her award, address each and every legal argument put forward by each of the parties? If not, why not? How does an arbitrator stop an advocate from bullying witnesses? What challenges does the arbitrator face in an employment arbitration that might not be present in a labor arbitration?
This treatise is designed for advocates and representatives with all levels of experience. It includes basic guidance on the arbitration process for the benefit of the many new advocates in the past several years, especially on the union side, as well as more advanced discussions on arbitration subtleties for the benefit of experienced representatives.
Advocates for parties in arbitration need to know how arbitrators react to certain issues and behaviors. This incredible resource provides from the trenches insights based on the author’s vast experience and involvement in deciding labor cases. While a great arbitration advocate may not know the particular arbitrator who will hear his or her case, the advocate should know how arbitrators approach hearings and the issues to be resolved. This volume thoroughly guides users through all the essential issues.
