News from Head Office

We are pleased to include the following news from the Chartered Institute's Head Office to help keep everybody informed of current developments.

The new Meeting Rooms have recently been opened and more details are available on the website. The Meeting Rooms provide an ideal facility for members, and the photographs on the website give an indication of the excellent facilities now available for our use. As members of the South East Branch, our proximity to London makes us ideal candidates for using these facilities. Please, therefore, check the website (www.arbitrators.org) and inform yourselves of the details, since Head Office are, of course, keen to encourage regular use of this fine new facility.

Secondly, the August mailing of the Chartered Institute's journal included a form to be filled in by all members with all details including e-mail addresses. By late this year the Institute hopes to have on-line a complete directory of Members. It goes without saying that those who fail to fill in and return the form will not be included in the on-line list of members, so fill in the form and return it as quickly as possible.

May we also draw your attention to the Edinburgh Conference, which is to be held on 28 / 29 September. Once again, full details are available on the website and booking can be undertaken through Head Office at Bloomsbury Square

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The next item of news is that the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators has recently linked up with the Panel of Independent Mediators. No doubt there will be many benefits from combining these groups, and a press release detailing this in greater depth is being circulated to members.

Finally in this round up of current news from Head Office, we are pleased to announce that Neil Kaplan CBE QC, Past President, has recently donated his substantial collection of All England Law Reports and Lloyd's Law Reports to the Institute and these are available for use by members in the Resource Centre. This is a generous and hugely beneficial gift, and members will gain considerable advantage from having access to this material.

The Institute's website is constantly being upgraded and updated, and it is well worth members taking a look from time to time, to keep up-to-date with the activities of the Institute both at home and abroad.

Charles Stimpson