"Room for Debate" - Seoul ADR Festival, November 2022

On 8 November 2022, Lee & Ko hosted the Room for Debate webinar as part of the Seoul ADR Festival.  We invited six well-respected arbitration practitioners to square off in a series of three short one-on-one debates.  This is a new format that we were experimenting with for the first time.  Each debater had only eight minutes to present a case and refute the arguments of the opposing debater.  The entire program lasted approximately one hour.

Moderators: Grace Yoon from Lee & Ko

Benjamin Lissner (CMS) v. Sharon Chong (Skrine)
Resolved: That virtual merits hearings should be the standard unless practical circumstances or an agreement of the parties require a hearing in-person.

Steven Lim (39 Essex Chambers) v. Nikolaus Pitkowitz (Pitkowitz & Partners) 
Resolved: That merits hearings should give greater priority to oral arguments from counsel than testimony from factual witnesses.

Dana Kim (Herbert Smith Freehills), and David Isidore Tan (Rajah & Tann/Lee & Ko)
Resolved: That users would benefit if arbitration rules included a mandatory mediation stage