There is no shortage of books about the art of advocacy in international arbitration. Pick any one from the library shelf, and you are likely to learn a great deal about good advocacy. In real life, however, it is bad advocacy that often rules the day. Time and again, tribunals encounter the infamous “Bad Advocate,” a master at flouting all the best practices of the trade.
This article examines how the Bad Advocate manages to ruin a perfectly good case through missteps and blunders at every stage of the arbitral proceedings. Covering ten broad topics – from tribunal constitution to closing arguments – it exposes common advocacy pitfalls that leave arbitrators exasperated and all but ensure inevitable defeat.
Warning: The following content may disturb some practitioners. Reader discretion is advised.
ASA Bulletin