¹I am privileged to review here the 25th Edition of the Securities Arbitration Procedure Manual (“SAPM”), the preeminent work in the securities arbitration field. Authored by long-time practitioner David Robbins, the Manual updates and supplements two prior editions and the seminal work first published 25 years ago.

² It has been ten years since the Securities Arbitration Commentator dedicated an entire issue to mediation: Tackling Obstacles to Mediation of Broker/Client Disputes was published in May 1994 and included the Defense Counsel’s Perspective by Ted Krebsbach and the Claimant’s Counsel’s Perspective by Roger Dietz. Both of these seasoned practitioners in securities mediation noted that, although mediation of securities disputes had gained some favor, efforts to increase the use of mediation had met with limited success.
Now a decade plus later, does the mediation landscape look much different?

³ROBBINS: Securities Arbitration Procedure Manual — David E. Robbins’s classic desk-side guide, Securities Arbitration Procedure Manual, aspires to be one-stop shopping for both the experienced and novice securities arbitrator. Most of the two-volume set is arranged like a hornbook, explaining rules, procedures, and important cases in the development of securities arbitration. But unlike a normal academic guide, the text is also interspersed with relevant techniques and tips that a more stodgy text might leave out.

⁴A colleague tells the story of his first oral argument as an associate at a large New York law firm. The crusty senior partner whispered to him just before he stood to address the court: “Be good. If you can’t be good, be short.” “I’ll be both,” my colleague replied, with the confidence and aplomb of a future arbitration attorney.