The newsletter of the
Chicago Dispute Resolution Association

Winter 2010

Dear CIDRA Friends:

Welcome to the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association’s winter edition Newsletter. We present you with updates on recent legal precedent, CIDRA speaker summaries, and relevant news in the area of international commercial arbitration.

In this edition, we highlight a presentation from our recent speaker, Howard L. Stovall. Mr. Stovall examined commercial arbitration practices in the Middle East with a particular emphasis on the historical perspectives and paradigms underpinning separate cultural and legal approaches to arbitration in the region. The article which formed the basis of his presentation is reproduced in full starting on page 3 of the Newsletter.

Also in this edition in our Speaker’s Corner on page 2, we summarize an excellent presentation given by Mauro Rubino-Sammartano on why arbitral awards need not only be different, but better, than court judgments given at our January 12, 2010 CIDRA breakfast hosted by Jenner & Block LLP.

Additionally, we are pleased to announce a return engagement with speaker Ramon Mullerat. Mr. Mullerat will lead a discussion on the state of the New York Convention in light of the possible revisions of UNCITRAL and the American Law Institute's Restatement of the Law of International Commercial Arbitration.

Also, please mark your calendars for the annual Regional Mini-Moot Competition in Chicago, a joint sponsorship with Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Loyola University Chicago School of Law scheduled for February 27, 2010. We look forward to another exciting competition.

Finally, as the new decade gets fully underway, we hope to see you in Chicago. We appreciate all of your feed-back and hope to publish articles or comments relevant to your cross-border commercial arbitration practice.

Please view our current schedules and events online at www.cidra.org.

We wish all of you a wonderful New Year in 2010!

Best wishes,

Peter V. Baugher