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www.canadianlawyermag.com 29 Arbitration best suited to virtual hearings Disputes where the facts are not so much in question but, rather, concern interpretation of a contract or making a finding under the law "are probably a little bit easier to accept without having the person in the room," says Louise Barrington, a chartered independent arbitrator who, like Judge, practises in Canada and internationally. Regardless, she says, "we'll see a lot hybrid arbitrations going forward." Judge anticipates that virtual hearings will be used extensively for smaller cases, "at least for hearings where the parties are set a considerable distance apart," e.g., by prov- inces or countries, he says. This relieves the burden of cost that can be harder to bear for smaller cases. For larger cases, video- conferencing will continue to be used for "Cases involving credibility issues such as serious allegations of fraud or significant translation matters will likely need to heard in person." John Judge, Arbitration Place The Ultimate Business Resource for Canada's Legal Profession Publishing 10 issues a year Each issue of Canadian Lawyer is packed with unbiased in-depth case analyses, valuable strategies, expert insights, and a wealth of information that will allow readers to prepare for cases and effectively manage their practice. What else is included in the one-year subscription? • UNLIMITED ACCESS to the digital edition and digital edition archives • REGULAR E-NEWSLETTER delivered straight to your inbox SCAN TO LEARN MORE CL Subs ad - Print.indd 2 CL Subs ad - Print.indd 2 10/11/2020 9:22:12 am 10/11/2020 9:22:12 am procedural meetings and for all prehearing motions, Judge predicts, "and that might well increase the number of prehearing motions that are raised, simply because of the avail- ability" and the ease to schedule in separate cities, countries and continents. Whether merit hearings — the main hear- ings in arbitrations — are heard virtually will "depend on the nature of the case, as well as the views of counsel and parties," he says. Cases involving credibility issues such as serious allegations of fraud or significant translation matters will likely need to heard in person, says Judge. As an example, many Asian languages don't lend themselves well to simultaneous interpretation, he says; consecutive interpretation takes longer and so draws out the proceedings.