Our Hong Kong face, Sala Sihombing attended the Kaplan Lecture 2012 on 2 December at the Hong Kong Club. This year's speaker was Lucy Reed (Freshfields). She discussed whether arbitrator's decision making should eb viewed as art, science or sport and how counsel should adapt to take into account cognitive biases.
In particular, Ms Reed made a plea for counsel to consider how best to provide a guide to arbitrators through the dispute. Whilst it can be tempting to present every piece of paper and every email and every witness, she urged lawyers to exercise restraint and discretion to ensure that arbitrators are not overwhelmed by quantity and can focus on the quality of the argument.