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Haber LLP, says a vague and overly broad agreement to arbitrate any dis- pute under the lease can "create abso- lute havoc," noting that the dollar value and complexity of many disputes may not warrant arbitration and may not be the most efficient mechanism for set- tling all disputes that may arise between landlords and tenants. "Any provision of the lease could have objections, all of which could give rise to arbitration. Maybe you're picking a panel of three and you could be talking a fortune already for a relatively minor dispute, Haber says. According to Glasner, parties should " also give careful consideration to the powers they will hand to the arbitrator in order to keep things moving along, as well as the ability to impose penalties for misbehaviour. "Give the arbitrator powers to deal with games that can be played by one or other of the parties," he says. For example, in B.C., one party is unable to move for dismissal of the arbitration for failure to prosecute the claim when there has been a large delay, unless the arbitration agreement spe- cifically provides for that right. Milton Davis, the managing partner of Davis Moldaver LLP in Toronto, is still scarred by one of his earliest arbi- tration experiences. As counsel to one of the parties in an eight-year slog, he says it was sometimes difficult to distinguish the case from regular litiga- tion through the courts. "The wound from having been involved in that is something that I won't forget ever, SPECIALIZATION IN BUSINESS LAW Part-time, Executive LLM program for corporate counsel and practising lawyers says Davis. Some of the procedures associat- " ed with litigation can easily be cut out of many arbitrations, he says. For example, discovery of documents is not always necessary, while oral examina- tion of witnesses can be eliminated in favour of written evidence, with a time- limited cross-examination. Realizing and exploiting the power they have over their own process is one way parties can cut the costs and time they invest in an arbitration, accord- ing to Gerry Ghikas, a litigation and arbitration partner in the Vancouver office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. "The parties have an opportunity to write their own rules. If they want, it can be done quick and dirty, For more information, call 416-978-1400 or visit: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html TIME: EVENT: Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - Ontario Chapter and in partnership with Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business. GLLM_IH_Apr_12.indd 1 26 • JUNE/JULY 2012 INHOUSE ly valuable in more straightforward disputes, which could involve smaller retail premises, landlord and tenant appraisals without a gulf between them, or unchallenged assumptions over whether the valuation should be based on the original unimproved space or its current condition. "You don't want to spend more money resolving the issue than is at stake. Each side has the same interest in that, also provides parties with a chance to experiment with different styles of dispute resolution. In one, known as Wallace points out that arbitration " Ghikas says. 12-05-03 10:58 AM says, adding that he's done entire arbi- trations where his total fees come in at not much over $10,000. That flexibility can be particular- " Ghikas

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