'The American Lawyer': Professor Rogers' Arbitrator Intelligence project promoting global arbitrator diversity

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In its biennial “Arbitration Scorecard,” The American Lawyer calls Penn State Law professor Catherine A. Rogers’ Arbitrator Intelligence project, an “immediate and market-friendly way to promote the diversity of decision-makers in all global arbitration.”

Launched last year, Arbitrator Intelligence is an interactive online resource designed to improve access to information in international arbitration and promote transparency in the arbitrator selection process.

In the “Focus Europe” section of the “Arbitration Scorecard,” The American Lawyer notes that its list of leading arbitrators has changed little since 2005, meaning that “the same small group of arbitrators are routinely deciding the world’s biggest disputes.” Even as international arbitration practice has grown more diverse, with parties and counsel arriving from an increasingly broad spectrum of cultural and legal backgrounds, the pool of arbitrators has proven resistant to similar expansion.

“The core problem, according to [leading arbitrator Brigitte] Stern, is that parties don’t trust new names because they don’t know them and how they think,” The American Lawyer article reads.

This is where Arbitrator Intelligence comes into the picture, providing a resource to help parties get to know new arbitrators and how they think. By promoting transparency and making sources of information about arbitrators more readily and equally available, Arbitrator Intelligence aims to increase arbitrator accountability, make the selection process more fair and predictable, and create better opportunities for new and diverse arbitrators.

According to The American Lawyer, “Arbitrator Intelligence seems to have hit a nerve, gathering almost 1,000 members from 114 countries in its first seven months, and publishing nearly 1,000 awards.” Since publication of the article on July 1, the number of members has increased to more than 1,300.

The article, “2015 Arbitration Scorecard: Deciding the World's Biggest Disputes,” is available online (free registration required).