For any arbitration in which Ted is nominated or appointed as arbitrator, it is his practice to notify the parties of any potential sources of conflicts of interest of which he is (or becomes) aware. Among other things, Ted maintains a running database of the names of the parties, counsel and any co-arbitrators in each of the matters in which he has served as an arbitrator. This database does not, however, include names of expert or fact witnesses, corporate representatives, or corporate affiliates of the parties that have appeared in Ted’s prior matters. He also does not keep track of the names of lawyers who were not identified as counsel of record in a matter and who appeared thereafter in only a minor capacity. Consequently, Ted is typically unable to disclose the fact or expert witnesses, corporate representatives or late-assigned attorneys with minor roles who participated in his prior matters, and he is also typically unable to disclose if an entity involved in a prospective matter may be a corporate affiliate of a party in one of his prior matters.
Consistent with the disclosure expectations of the various institutional administrators of arbitration proceedings and the IBA Rules on Conflicts of Interest, Ted also endeavors to disclose any other non-trivial or non-casual professional, social, familial or other relationship with any person identified to him as participating in a new potential proceeding.
Ted likewise requests that any parties to an arbitration in which he is nominated or appointed as arbitrator disclose any facts or circumstances considered relevant to his impartiality or independence as soon as that information is reasonably available and undertake a reasonable continuing search of publicly available information after learning of Ted’s prospective appointment.
Ted no longer has any affiliation of any kind with the law firms where he previously worked. Nor does he have any ongoing access to the client databases of those firms. Consequently, Ted is unable to disclose connections that his prior law firms, or their attorneys, may have with participants in any matter in which he serves (or is asked to serve) as an arbitrator.
While Ted is a member of numerous organizations and attends numerous conferences and events in the arbitration field, he does not maintain records of fellow members, speakers or participants. Ted also does monitor or disclose whether persons he has merely “befriended” or “connected” on LinkedIn or other social media sites, most of whom he has never met, are identified as participants in a prospective matter. In any event, such connections are not considered to be relationships that might affect impartiality or independence in the eyes of a reasonable third party. (Canon II, Code of Ethics for Arbitrators in Commercial Disputes, American Bar Association (2004); General Standard 2, International Bar Association Guidelines for Conflicts of Interest in Commercial Arbitration (2014)).
Interested parties should not rely on this website as a complete or updated source of disclosure information about Ted. Consistent with the above, and the applicable disclosure standards, Ted will disclose any potential conflicts for any prospective new arbitrator appointment based on the information that is current and available to him at the time. Parties and counsel considering Ted for appointment as an arbitrator are also welcome to seek clarifying or follow-up information from Ted (or through the case manager, if applicable) if they wish.