On 23 June this year, my colleague Kelvin Teo from Drew and Napier LLC and Hazel Tang from the ICC, spoke to some 60+ participants from the construction/legal fraternity in “Picking Fruit from Scorched Earth – Practical Tips for Managing Construction Arbitrations Efficiently”, a webinar jointly supported by the ICC and the SCL(S).

The aptly-named title invoked images of the scorched earth tactics used by some, as well as of the ultimate goal of obtaining the fruits of the arbitration.

Hazel gave the audience the perspective from the institution that administers arbitration, and talked us through the key aspects of an ICC Commission Report on tools and techniques for managing construction industry arbitrations.  

Kelvin shared with the audience practical tips, from a user’s perspective, on how best to manage construction arbitrations with massive claims and myriad issues.

As a user who is regularly involved in large construction arbitrations that are both document and issue-heavy, I found the talk to be relevant and useful. My key takeaways included Kelvin’s explanation for how a Summary Schedule can be used at the hearing to focus everyone’s minds.