4. Arb-Med a. Arb-Med is a hybrid process that combines the benefits of arbitration and mediation, including: speed, procedural flexibility, confidentiality, choice of decision maker, ease of access to the tribunal, continuity, finality, and enforceability of the outcome. If full settlement is not reached in the mediation, the arbitrator who was acting as mediator will have been informed as to the issues in dispute and the facts of the case which can be carried over into the arbitration with potentially significant time and cost savings for the parties. b. Our Arb-Med rules are robust and certain, yet innovative in their commercial commonsense approach to the challenge of combining arbitration and mediation in a single unified process that ensures the principles of natural justice are observed and a just, final, and binding decision is made. The Rules are fundamentally and purposively directed to ensuring the resolution of disputes in a manner that is private, efficient, flexible, cost effective, and certain. Ultimately, a balance always needs to be struck. There is a cost involved to obtain private dispute resolution services. That cost must take account of the specialist skills of our colleagues and peers who provide the services – there is nothing to be gained in underselling our services – but this must be counterbalanced against what is a reasonable response to the demands of the case. We believe our latest iteration of process rules strikes a measured balance providing an optimal approach for providers and users of private dispute resolution alike. Nevertheless, we will always continue to invest in research and development to refine and improve our offerings and would suggest that each and every one of us involved in the practice of dispute resolution ensures that proportionality be recognised and retained as a central pillar of what we do. End Notes 1 New Zealand International Arbitration Centre (NZIAC), New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre (NZDRC), Building Disputes Tribunal (BDT), and the FDR Centre.
About the author
Catherine Green
Catherine graduated with a BA and LLB from the University of Auckland in 2005. She also holds a Graduate Diploma of Business Studies (dispute resolution), a Postgraduate Diploma of Business Administration (dispute resolution), and is an Associate of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand.
Prior to starting her dispute resolution practice, Catherine gained a wide range of experience in commercial litigation matters both onshore and offshore, including four years in the litigation team at Russell McVeagh (Auckland), two years in the dispute resolution team at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP (London), and four years in the litigation team at Mourant Ozannes (Cayman Islands).
Whilst working in leading law firms both onshore and offshore, Catherine has gained extensive experience in a wide range of commercial litigation matters, including fraud, insolvency, contractual, financial services, tax avoidance and regulatory issues.
Catherine has also contributed to a number of publications.
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