Inner_Temple_Gardens

Garibaldi Inn of Court Revisits Hall Street v. Mattel

January 18, 2008

                       
             [Image: A view of Inner Temple Gardens, London, The Lud, 10-03-2006]

            Two months ago, I the then pending oral argument in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc.,  calling it “the most important ADR case of the year.”  The case raises the question of whether parties can, by agreement, expand the scope of judicial review of an arbitration award beyond the grounds stated in the Federal Arbitration Act. Last week, I was able to attend the monthly meeting of the Justice Marie Garibaldi Inn of Court for Alternative Dispute Resolution, at which there was a wonderful presentation on the case and the oral argument before the Supreme Court.  The Garibaldi Inn of Court, named in honor of retired New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Marie Garibaldi, is one of the American Inns of Court, and may be the only one devoted to alternative dispute resolution. 
            The American Inns of Court are loosely modeled after the traditional English Inns of Court (Gray\’s Inn, Lincoln\’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple), and are “designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar.  An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students. Each Inn meets approximately once a month both to \’break bread\’ and to hold programs and discussions on matters of ethics, skills and professionalism.”
            At last week\’s program, New Jersey attorney and neutral John R. Holsinger provided an excellent procedural history of Hall Street and framed the issues now before the Supreme Court.  The Inn then heard from Eric P. Tuchmann, General Counsel of the American Arbitration Association, who submitted a brief on behalf of the AAA as amicus curiae, and who attended the oral argument.  It was fascinating to hear not only which Justices asked questions, but what each of them appeared to be thinking about how the resolution of Hall Street should be approached.  The consensus of opinion?  As other commentators have said, this one is tough to predict.  There is room for the Court to rule for either party, or to avoid the main issue entirely. 
           It was a rare evening.  In the company of active and retired New Jersey jurists of note and leading ADR practitioners, I was listening to a discussion of a Supreme Court case I had covered, being led by someone involved in that case.  It was everything that the Inns of Court are supposed to be, and I was grateful to be a part of it.  A special note of gratitude goes out to Robert E. Margulies, an officer of the Inn and New Jersey attorney and neutral, for inviting me into the Inn\’s membership last year.  Membership in an Inn of Court can restore one\’s faith in the professionalism that should be fundamental to the practice of law.  I highly recommend it.