2012 American Arbitration Association Construction Conference – May 31-June 1

On the afternoon of Thursday, May 31, 2012 through Friday, June 1, 2012, the American Arbitration Association (AAA), in cooperation with NASBP and 14 other law and construction-oriented organizations, will be holding its Construction Conference New York, NY at the New York University (NYU) Law School. This years’ Conference is titled “Cutting Construction Arbitration Costs without Compromise,” and will include five corporate counsel roundtable and panel discussions to help you find out how to get an “A” in arbitration with cost- and time-saving strategies you may not have considered in the past.

The five session topics consist of:

• Corporate counsel strategies for an effective arbitration
• Drafting a construction ADR clause to meet project needs and minimize delays
• The time-saving nuances of consolidation and joinder
• What you really need from the discovery process
• How advocates and arbitrators can optimize the arbitration process

To view the conference brochure, click here. For more information or to register, contact AAAUniversity@adr.org or call 212.716.5864.

Additional News about AAA Construction Dispute Resolution Activities

Construction Webinar May 2, 2012, 2:00-3:30 pm ET
RESULTS-Effective Construction Arbitration on a Budget
The panel of experts will share their insights on how to control costs during case preparation and presentation and when a cost trade-off should be considered. Attendees will leave this program better able to decide which tools to use during the construction arbitration process and which to avoid.
C. Allen Gibson, Jr., Esq. – Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC – Charleston, SC A. Holt Gwyn, Esq. – Conner Gwyn Schenck, PLLC – Greensboro, NC (NCDRC Member for ACCL)
www.AAAUOnline.org

Statistics on Construction Disputes at AAA
Filings of construction disputes at AAA are up slightly in the first quarter of 2012, especially in commercial construction and especially in the Northeastern US. The largest claim to date in 2012 is over $100,000,000 and the largest for 2011 was over $200,000,000. The highest growth is in cases from $500,000 to $1,000,000. The first weeks of April have also seen filings of some very large, complex project disputes, both in commercial and industrial construction. Residential construction arbitrations and mediations are both down for the first quarter.

AAA/NCDRC Education Efforts
AAA is asking for feedback about how to make its new website and its new special section that is devoted to construction dispute resolution helpful to companies and their attorneys for commercial construction. Direct comments and suggestions about the new site to Michael Marra at MarraM@adr.org and Rod Toben at TobenR@adr.org.

NASBP Pipeline Features article from Expert Arbitrators
In January, NCDRC member, NASBP CEO Mark McCallum, asked the AAA for an article on selecting arbitrators for construction cases. Two expert advocates, David Evans, Esquire of Murphy & King in Boston and Michael Libor, Esquire of Morgan, Lewis, Bockius in Philadelphia, who are also AAA arbitrators prepared the article, titled “Practical Considerations in the Selection of Arbitrators in Construction and Surety Cases.” The article was published in the January/February 2012 Pipeline.

AAA Announces that its Construction Executives are Available
AAA Vice Presidents are available to present at monthly or annual meetings to spread greater understanding of the use of mediation and arbitration to the various member-organizations in the construction industry. Click here to view the list of these leaders of the AAA Construction Division.