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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 4 39 lEgal rEport/lITIgaTIon Private v. public courts Arbitration is not always the faster, cheaper way to resolve disputes. by jennifer brown w ith more arbitration chambers open- ing in Ontario and elsewhere, clearly parties are seeing the benefits of arbitration. However, as you might expect, when you ask most litigators whether litigation or arbitra- tion is better, the answer is likely: "It depends." Is arbitration faster and more economi- cal as it has been touted? Not everything that can be litigated can be arbitrated — but some are finding a hybrid way of using the best of both worlds to reach a resolution. From a time perspective, the reality is matters that might take a long time in litigation can take just as long to arbi- trate. For instance, if you have a docu- ment intensive case it may take months to collect and produce that material. "I actually think it can be faster but not necessarily cheaper," says Lisa Munro, a partner at Lerners LLP and an execu- tive member of the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society. "It can be faster if both parties want it to be faster." In other words, both parties have to commit to a more streamlined process that arbitra- tions allow. "For example, it can take forever to get a motion date and forever once the parties are ready to go to trial to actually get a trial date," says Munro. "You don't see those same sorts of delays in arbitrations, generally, because dates are entirely dependent on the availability of the arbitrator and availability of counsel. In most cases you don't have so many counsel involved that it makes schedul- ing unwieldy and you can get important motions on extremely quickly." Munro says if you're waiting in the courts for a master's motion date it could take you six months. "If the parties are ready to go you can get a motion on before your arbitrator often within a number of weeks," she says. "I think that is one of the most important areas where you can get a proceeding going more quickly." Roger Smith, of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Calgary, says the use of arbitration to resolve civil matters is definitely on the increase but a timely resolution all depends on the parties involved. "If you have two parties keen to have their differences resolved, they can have it decided a bit more matthew BiLLington