Synopsis By: Goldstein - Proceeding Author: Cosimo Abato, Richard I. Bloch, Harold Greene, Rolf Valtin, James Vandervoort

A survey of the pooled knowledge and experience of judges, advocates, and arbitrators regarding how decisions come into being and how they are shaped by the institutional framework within which they operates. The Washington report concludes that judges and arbitrators function the same when arriving at decisions; that judging is an art rather than a science (i.e., not a wholly analytical process). Institutional differences are examined, including tenure and the greater use of mediation by judges. Other topics are discovery, bench decisions, opinion writing and the late rendition of awards, the role of the advocates, and the appeal of decisions.