The main challenges of arbitration as told by Mag. Kopecky

As a lawyer, there are several challenges when settling disputes using arbitration. As we learned from Mag. Kopecky today, an arbitration lawyer must be aware of many unexpected factors such as cultural influences and previous behaviour of potential clients.

Cultural factors play a large role in arbitration, as it influences the actions of clients and can impact the Judge’s final decision. A dispute resolution lawyer may be dealing with people from many different cultures throughout their career and knowing their background and point of view may provide a more effective way to handle arbitration.

In addition to cultural factors, each client presents themselves with a unique history.  A good arbitration lawyer will take the necessary precautions and exercise their due diligence when taking on a new client.  These include; running background checks, making sure the clients are being honest and lawful about their conduct, and being aware of the political affiliations they may have. While clients provide work for lawyers, they must be cautious with who they choose to represent.

One other challenge Mag. Kopecky mentioned was setting the right price to charge. This skill comes with experience, as the decision-making process is largely based on past cases and the proper valuation of one’s work.  Undervaluing work may lead to lost profits for a firm, as an inexperienced lawyer may end up writing off large portions of work their estimate did not account for. 

Below is a photo we took of the Emperor Franz Joseph I. He is a significant to both the people of Vienna and the university students. He commissioned his statue to be built as a reminder to law students that when they finished their studies, they would have a job working for him.

                         - Matt and Lindsay