Preliminary Hearing Report and Scheduling Order for Arbitration
(U.S.)

Summary

This template is a report of preliminary hearing and scheduling order you can use in domestic (U.S.-based) arbitrations. It includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate and optional clauses. After the preliminary hearing, the tribunal issues a procedural order setting forth its determinations regarding the matters addressed at the hearing. The procedural order typically tracks the hearing agenda. If the parties disagreed on multiple issues, the tribunal may take some time before making a determination with respect to those items. In some cases, the arbitral tribunal will draft more detailed minutes of the first session, but more often the tribunal will briefly summarize the preliminary hearing and issue a scheduling order. In larger or high-stake disputes, there may be a transcript of the preliminary hearing. The scheduling order may also be referred to as "Procedural Order No. 1," as procedural issues frequently arise at the hearing and the tribunal sequentially numbers its procedural orders. The scheduling order may be based on preliminary distributed draft or agenda for the tribunal first session. Always consult the governing arbitration rules to determine if you should (or must) include additional items in the scheduling order. Most of the major U.S. arbitral institutions set forth rules or guidance relating to the preliminary hearing and/or procedural order. For example, The AAA Rules also contain a comprehensive list of issues to be considered at the preliminary hearing. See AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures Rule P-2 (suggesting 19 items for consideration). For a listing of key content covering AAA Arbitration, see AAA Arbitration Resource Kit. For more information, see Preliminary Hearings and Procedural Orders in Arbitration (U.S.).