Managing the Battlefield, Part 1: Appreciating the Value of Consolidated Arbitration

This two-part series intends to guide the construction industry, and the lawyers advising it, toward a usable arbitration agreement that is designed to meet the challenges inherent in multiparty and consolidated proceedings. In the second article, we provide a uniform contractual template that solves these many challenges. But it is impossible to appreciate the merits of this proposed template without some further context. This initial article therefore begins with a brief account of the contemporary statutory and judicial framework for arbitration, describing the circumstances in which consolidated proceedings are often warranted and examining the growing need for contractual consolidation provisions in the absence of uniform law on the subject.