Arbitration Advocacy
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the use of arbitration as a means of resolving high-value, international disputes. Different arbitration bodies have their own procedural rules. Still, as with court proceedings, the need to persuade a decision maker remains.
Representing clients effectively in an arbitration is a skill which can be learned and practised. Winning in arbitration requires even more refined techniques.
On this course, delegates learn specialist questioning skills such as direct and re-direct examination and cross-examination. They are also taught to present a complex case simply and persuasively. The course also examines the role of the expert witness in arbitration.
David Foster, an experienced arbitration advocate and a partner at the London offices of international law firm O'Melveny and Myers has no doubt about the effectiveness of the advocacy training.
Dr Johannes Landbrecht / Gabriel Arbitration, Switzerland
"Peter Lyons taught at Gabriel Arbitration in Zurich late September 2017. We concentrated on the skill of cross-examination.
Someone once told me that advocacy is like a muscle, you need to use it for it to grow stronger.
What I liked most about Peter's candid style and teaching method is that he is not dogmatic about anything but focusses on whether it is effective.
He has a comparative approach to advocacy and takes the peculiarities of various countries into account. It makes it easier to adapt.
Peter doesn't focus exclusively on the English style. For us arbitration practitioners it is much more helpful to have a basic understanding of how, for instance, US attorneys plead. Eventually, we will have to deal with all these different styles in arbitration proceedings so the training was invaluable."
Guy Pendell / Head of Dispute Resolution, CMS Cameron McKenna
"CMS is a regular user of Peter Lyons and his team for advocacy and other contentious training. Peter is able to bring out the best in our delegates no matter what their level of experience. His teaching techniques are tried and tested and have proven to make a difference."
Dr Stuart Dutson / Partner, International Head of Arbitration at Simmons & Simmons
“We were keen to do an excellent advocacy course that was focussed on arbitration. Despite our best endeavours we struggled to find one. However, in serendipitous conversations with contemporaries in the international arbitration community Peter Lyons' name was mentioned as the man who could deliver.
We did Peter's course and will be back for more. It was an excellent training session for all arbitration practitioners. I would highly recommend Peter.”
Will Thomas / Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
"Peter scoped and delivered a brilliantly bespoke Fast Track training session for the Higher Rights assessment, tailoring it perfectly for a seasoned arbitration practitioner - with substantial advocacy experience but in serious need of re-visiting the White Book and English rules of evidence. I would thoroughly recommend Peter to anyone in similar circumstances."
Dr. Torsten Loercher / Head of Arbitration for CMS Hasche Sigle
"We have repeatedly worked with CPD Training and we will do so again in the future. I can strongly recommend them as they provide really top class training on the full range of advocacy skills, required by arbitration lawyers."
David Foster / Partner, O’Melveny and Myers LLP
“I was impressed by Peter Lyons' genuine enthusiasm for the subject, as well as the content of the courses he has arranged and taught. Everyone in our team, no matter how experienced, learnt a lot from them. The courses were very productive as a team building exercise, and everyone commented that they found them well suited to arbitration advocacy, as well as being very enjoyable.”
Jaroslav Kolkowski / Partner, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Complex Commercial Litigation, International Arbitration and Trade
If you think you know everything about advocacy, you haven’t met Peter Lyons. If you think common law techniques can be of little use in civil law courts, you haven’t met Peter Lyons… and you’re arrogant too.
I have had an opportunity to learn from Peter twice. Each time I had a great feeling of improving; I am completely sure I will ask for more opportunities.
One might thus say that he is a good salesman, but I’d rather say that he is a very good teacher.
Dr Simon Gabriel / Attorney at Law, GABRIEL Arbitration (formerly of CMS, Zürich)
The CMS Arbitration Academy met in Vienna in April 2009 where it launched a superb publication, The CMS Guide to Arbitration. The book, edited by Torsten Lörcher and Zannis Mavrogordato, is a comprehensive and accessible guide to arbitration in Europe for business leaders.
At the same time, CPD Training (UK) presented an intensive two-day training course on arbitration skills. Here is the reaction of some of the delegates who took the course.
“I attended a cross-examination training of CPD. Peter Lyons and his team enabled me to develop my thoughts and skills into a field which was previously rather nebulous to me, being a trained civil lawyer: the art of witness (cross-) examination. The best possible examination of witnesses is key in many international arbitration procedures. Consequently, I am convinced that the training results in a direct benefit for our clients and our success in arbitral practice. Excellent!”
Marcelo Cippitelli / CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Mercosur, Buenos Aires
“I am amazed with CPD Training group. Peter Lyons’ teaching proficiency kept the attention of all the lawyers from the beginning to the end of the course, providing confidence to all the participants to improve their skills with direct participation. It is really incredible how training could be found so amusing and useful by lawyers from more than 8 countries around the world.”
Sergiy Gryshko / CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz, Ukraine
“I have done Examination Skills in International Arbitration training by CPD. I was particularly impressed by the level of teachers combining the insights of their professional careers with brilliant teaching skills. The diversity of both national and professional backgrounds (coaches were both from the private sector and the judiciary as well as from different parts of the globe) helped see the examination of a witness not from only the attorney's perspective, but also with the eyes of the arbitration panel. Experience and credentials of the trainers were amazing; however, their performances even exceeded my expectations. Definitely a thing to do for anyone who considers himself as an international arbitration professional firmly committed to constant professional development.”
Cross-Examination
Delegates who attend this course will learn how to cross-examine thoroughly and persuasively in arbitrations. The course takes into account that cross-examinations in international arbitrations are not aggressive but the delegates will still learn the techniques of case analysis and framing questions to achieve the best objectives.
Cross-Examination of Forensic Accountants
This is a very popular course which has been run several times in London, Vienna and Zurich. Drawing on the expertise of real forensic accountants, we have been able to construct a programme which is highly relevant to international disputes and the calculation of quantum. Senior forensic accountants give evidence on the course and the delegates learn how to formulate probing questions for them while still keeping control of the witness.