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Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L
46
OCTOBER 2016
The Final Frontier of Trial Practice
Arbitration Complication Trepidation
Explication
By Oliver Khan
O
ne of the reasons for the creation
of the Cook County Commercial
Calendar’s mandatory arbitra-
tion program, as Judge Thomas Mulroy
describes, was to facilitate access to justice.
The arbitration program creates a venue for
litigants to have their claims heard quickly
by experienced commercial litigators who
sit as arbitrators.
Judge Mulroy presides in the commer-
cial calendar section of the Circuit Court
of Cook County and also runs the com-
mercial calendar’s mandatory arbitration
program. On September 22, 2016, the
CBA held a seminar entitled “Arbitration
and the Last Frontier of Trial Practice.”The
speakers included Judge Mulroy, Nancy
Hendrickson of the Hendrickson Law
Firm, Gerald Saltarelli of Butler Rubin
Saltarelli & Boyd LLP, and Nick Standi-
ford of Schain, Banks, Kenny & Schwartz,
Ltd. Hendrickson and Saltarelli both serve
as arbitrators in the program. Jonathan
Amarilio of Taft Stettinius &Hollister LLP
moderated. The following is a summary of
rules governing the arbitration program,
and the panel’s advice and wisdom.
What Cases Go to Arbitration?
Cases filed in the commercial calendar sec-
tion of the LawDivision claiming damages
less than $75,000 are subject to mandatory
arbitration. Cook Cnty. R. 25.1. Where