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HomeWho it’s forGeneral counsel & corporates

TN/AUD/05
Edition 2027 · effective 1 January 2027

For general counsel & corporates

The best dispute is the one your company never has.

General counsel are measured on risk, cost and relationships. A Neutral strategy (clauses that route issues early, standing capability on key relationships, evaluation before litigation) reduces all three.

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§ 01What you really need

Five needs, in your words.

Drawn from how people in your position actually describe the problem, not from procedure.

(Needs)

Prevention by design

Neutral routes written into contracts before trouble.

Predictable cost

Budgets the business can plan for.

Speed to decision

Answers in weeks, not years.

Global consistency

One approach across jurisdictions.

Board-ready reporting

Evidence that the strategy works.

What usually goes wrong: defaulting to litigation or arbitration clauses only; treating mediation as a sign of weakness; engaging Neutrals only after positions harden.

(Avoid)

Frame your question Commissioning guides

§ 02The cost of waiting

What the evidence says.

Sourced and dated. Use the calculator to estimate your own.

US$102bn

Record value of new ICC cases in 2024: 841 cases, 2,392 parties from 136 jurisdictions.

ICC Dispute Resolution Statistics 2024, via Global Legal Post · 2024 ↗
48%

Users who prefer international arbitration combined with mediation or other ADR for cross-border disputes (2,402 respondents).

Queen Mary University of London & White & Case, 2025 International Arbitration Survey · 2025 ↗
2 in 3

In-house counsel who said they need more efficiency in dispute resolution.

Global Pound Conference series report, via Herbert Smith Freehills · 2018 ↗

Estimate what a conflict is costing you →

§ 03Evaluation for you

10 questions people in your position bring to an evaluator.

A major strategic decision01Strategy & board decisionsClarity DeepView™On the evidence available, does this proposal achieve what it claims, and what would have to be true for it to fail?Earn-out and completion accounts02Transactions & investmentEarly Neutral EvaluationHave the earn-out or completion accounts been calculated according to the agreement?Joint venture or partnership health check03Transactions & investmentStanding EvaluatorIs this partnership delivering what the partners intended, and what is getting in the way?A technical failure04Projects & operationsClarity DeepView™What is the most likely technical cause of this failure?Is this AI system fit for its use05Technology, data & AIEvaluation PanelWithin an agreed evidence and testing scope, does this AI system perform as claimed for its intended use, and what remains unassured?Vendor claims against delivery06Technology, data & AIEarly Neutral EvaluationDoes the delivered system meet the contract specification and the vendor’s representations?Data and IP use rights07Technology, data & AIEarly Neutral EvaluationIs this use of data, code or a model within the rights granted?The merits of a claim08Differences & disputesEarly Neutral EvaluationHow strong is each side’s position, and what is the likely range of outcomes if it is decided?An insurance coverage question09Differences & disputesEarly Neutral EvaluationDoes the policy respond to this loss, and to what extent?A cross-border commercial difference10Differences & disputesEarly Neutral EvaluationUnder the governing law and the contract, how is this difference likely to be resolved?

§ 04Situations you may face

11 situations where a Neutral helps.

Joint venture under strain01Ownership & businessStanding Neutral · Mediation · Neutral EvaluationTwo partners built one venture. Their parent companies now want different things from it.Valuation and earn-out02Ownership & businessExpert Determination · Neutral Evaluation · MediationThe deal closed. The number that was supposed to settle later did not.After the acquisition03Ownership & businessFacilitation · Neutral EvaluationThe integration plan met real people. Two cultures now share one company.Board deadlock04Boards & governanceNeutral Chairing · Neutral Evaluation · FacilitationThe board is split, and the company is waiting.Special committee process05Boards & governanceNeutral Chairing · Neutral EvaluationA transaction or investigation needs a process that visibly does not depend on the people involved.Supplier and customer strain06Projects & contractsMediation · Neutral Evaluation · ConciliationA long supply relationship is failing on quality, price or delivery.Long-term contract friction07Projects & contractsStanding Neutral · Facilitation · Neutral EvaluationThe contract was signed for ten years. The world changed in two.Insurance coverage question08Projects & contractsNeutral Evaluation · MediationA loss happened. Whether the policy responds is now the question.Cross-border commercial strain09Cross-borderMediation · Neutral Evaluation · Arbitration · ConciliationTwo companies, two countries, two legal systems, and one contract under pressure.International distribution strain10Cross-borderMediation · Neutral Evaluation · ConciliationA distributor and a brand built a market together. Now they disagree about its future.Technology, data and AI licensing11Cross-borderExpert Determination · Neutral Evaluation · MediationCode, data or a model was licensed. Now the parties disagree about what it may be used for.

§ 05Roles that fit

The Neutral roles people like you use most.

  1. Standing NeutralWho is there before the problem becomes a dispute?01
  2. Neutral EvaluationWhat does an independent professional think of this question?02
  3. MediationCan we reach an agreement we both choose?03

§ 06How we can help

Evaluation services for people in your position.

Fixed fee by complexity, quoted after scope review

Early Neutral Evaluation

The established dispute practice: a confidential, non-binding view of the merits and the likely range of outcomes, given to the parties together, so they can settle, narrow the issues or proceed with realistic expectations. Courts in England and Wales, Singapore and the United States use it. Procedure, consent and whether the view is without prejudice are agreed in advance.

Annual retainer plus Snapshots as used

Standing Evaluator

A qualified evaluator appointed at the start of a relationship, kept informed, and available to give an independent view whenever a question arises. Activation rules, response times and information access are written into the agreement.

Programme fee

Evaluation Capability

Developed consultatively: evaluation policy and governance, clauses, a panel of pre-cleared evaluators and training in commissioning and using evaluation well.

First stepsFor general counsel & corporates
Three thingsto do this week.
01 Audit your top 20 contracts for dispute clauses
02 Add a tiered Neutral clause to new contracts
03 Appoint Standing Neutrals on critical relationships
Clarity first · keep options open · make fairness visible

§ 07Frame your question

Describe it. Get the evaluation question.

Written for general counsel & corporates. Leave out names and confidential details.

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The answer

Choose who you are and ask anything. The engine answers from the institution’s own guidance, in plain language.

§ 08Read next

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