eArbitrations – Bridging the gap in international arbitration
Promoted by Epiq.
Imagine a hearing room full of high-definition monitors replacing the thousands of paper folders involved in your arbitration. From small, local mediations to large-scale, international arbitrations, innovative electronic arbitration (eArbitration) technology allows you to go paperless. By transforming how your legal team works you can make arbitral processes easier, quicker, and more cost-effective.
International collaboration
The major benefits of eArbitrations lie in their collaborative potential; they enable collaboration between legal teams, experts, and clients in highly scalable and customisable cloud-based workspaces. Integration with various eDiscovery platforms also encourages easy upload of files and document ingestion.
Collaboration within, and between, parties is especially relevant in the case of arbitrations. Many arbitration centres encourage procedural improvements when preparing for arbitrations with the view to shorten proceedings and minimise costs for all involved. Such improvements include making sure that all documents involved in a matter are exchanged by the parties before the commencement of the hearing, and as many documents as possible are tendered as evidence in the form of an agreed-upon bundle or court book. Electronic systems of document management will also reduce paper handling and enable more efficient work processes.
Parties to an arbitration need effective collaboration between the in-house team, clients, and any other stakeholders involved, particularly when operating across borders. Following such directives will ensure the best outcomes for everyone involved in an arbitration. By embracing process improvements and enhancing their effectiveness with new technologies, cost and time savings can be immense.
Global connectivity
eArbitrations address the challenges involved in an arbitration, with the aim of streamlining the user experience through the electronic presentation of evidence and the Online Review Book.
Electronic evidence presentation can lead to significant savings in both cost and duration of an arbitration, as document presentation can be up to 30% faster than in a paper-based hearing.In order to present evidence electronically, an eArbitration consultant will coordinate proceedings in the hearing room, controlling the presentation of documents and ensuring the flow of the hearing is uninterrupted. Documents can be presented side-by-side for comparison, with the ability to zoom in, highlight, and annotate finer details. Navigating documents in native format is simple, with Excel formulas and filters also easily viewable. eArbitrations ensure everyone in the room has the same document infront of them at all times, meaning everyone is always on the same page.
The Epiq Online Review Book is a proven replacement for paper-based arbitration preparation, allowing arbitrators to prepare with the security, efficiency, and flexibility of modern technology. The Online Review Book is delivered as a secure web service accessible from any location, including the hearing room, offices, chambers, home, and any other location where an internet connection is available. An Online Review Book provides for a shared set of documents between the parties and court, as well as a private database for each party. This approach mimics the hard copy world where each party has their own set of the agreed court bundle, in addition to documents that are kept private until needed (e.g. during cross-examination). This ensures that the documents viewed, searched, and annotated are kept confidential.
The Online Review Book is compatible with real-time transcription services, which provides users with a live, verbatim record of legal proceedings as they happen. Transcripts are fully hyperlinked within the Online Review Book, which makes the preparation of closing submissions at the end of the hearing much more efficient than for a paper-based matter. Reports to the client can also be prepared during hearing hours, rather than waiting for the transcript to be published that evening.
The ability to access the Online Review Book remotely and read a transcript in real-time means that international arbitrations that involve stakeholders based in different locations can easily be heard anywhere, at any time.
—
Epiq is the most experienced provider of electronic hearings and arbitrations in the Asia-Pacific region, and can help manage matters in the diverse legal and regulatory landscapes that exist in the region.
Epiq has been working closely with global law firms, corporations, and the judiciary to streamline the courtroom process for over a decade. We also have unrivalled experience in providing on-the-ground support during all stages of a matter, from discovery and case management to the courtroom and beyond.
To learn more about eArbitrations download our free brochure at bit.ly/eHearings or contact