The Rise of a Third Generation of Arbitrators? Fifteen Years After Dezalay & Garth

Fifteen years ago, sociologist Yves Dezalay and lawyer Bryant Garth wrote an enormously successful book in which they asked a simple but important question: What sort of people become successful arbitrators? The main result of their research was to identify two quite different generations of arbitrators. The first they called the ‘Grand Old Men.’ They were people who had risen to the top of their national legal professions, but had not specialized in the field of arbitration; men whose general legal and social aura made them credible arbitrators. The second generation, which prevailed at the time of Dezalay and Garth’s study, were assigned the name of ‘Technocrats,’ in the sense of technical experts. Successful arbitrators of that generation typically acquired their credentials through activities in the field of international arbitration. They usually had a career almost entirely dedicated to arbitration. Now, how have things changed in the last fifteen years? This is the question this article seeks to address. The authors have tried to replicate (on a smaller scale) Dezalay and Garth’s sociological survey, in order to identify the main criteria on which arbitrators and chairpersons are selected today. On that basis, the authors try to formulate abstract propositions about the identity of a third generation of arbitrators on the rise: the Managers.