Menu
Blog Archives
The Case Against Reality
December 16, 2016
A professor of cognitive science argues that the world is nothing like the one we experience through our senses. As we go about our daily lives, we tend to assume that our perceptions—sights, sounds, textures, tastes—are an accurate portrayal of the real world. Sure, when we stop and think about it—or when we find ourselves fooled by a perceptual illusion—we realize with a jolt that what we perceive is never the world directly, but rather our brain’s best guess at what that world is like,...
December 16, 2016
A professor of cognitive science argues that the world is nothing like the one we experience through our senses. As we go about our daily lives, we tend to assume that our perceptions—sights, sounds, textures, tastes—are an accurate portrayal of the real world. Sure, when we stop and think about it—or when we find ourselves fooled by a perceptual illusion—we realize with a jolt that what we perceive is never the world directly, but rather our brain’s best guess at what that world is like,...
Inns of Court Focus on Alternative Dispute Resolution
December 15, 2016
September/October 2016 Table of Contents: Feature Articles Alternative Dispute Resolution: A New Harmony of Civility and Professionalism Deborah Wood Blevins, Esq. Page 13 Victim Offender Dialogue: A Benefit to Youth and Society May Kate Coleman, Esq. Page 16 Improving Professionalism by Improving Judgment—Keys to Advising About Settlement and Mediation Laura A. Kaster, Esq. Page 18 Disputants: The Missing Third Leg of the ADR Stool Terri...
December 15, 2016
September/October 2016 Table of Contents: Feature Articles Alternative Dispute Resolution: A New Harmony of Civility and Professionalism Deborah Wood Blevins, Esq. Page 13 Victim Offender Dialogue: A Benefit to Youth and Society May Kate Coleman, Esq. Page 16 Improving Professionalism by Improving Judgment—Keys to Advising About Settlement and Mediation Laura A. Kaster, Esq. Page 18 Disputants: The Missing Third Leg of the ADR Stool Terri...
Arbitration in Federal Court — 2016
December 14, 2016
The Fifth Circuit’s analysis of arbitration issues is significantly influenced by the standard of review. A challenge to arbitrability involves careful scrutiny of the parties’ agreements. A challenge to the arbitration process or the ultimate award, however, faces a much more difficult standard of review. Arbitrability In Kubala v. Supreme Production Services, the parties disputed whether an arbitration agreement reached an employment claim that arose before entry into the agreement. The district...
December 14, 2016
The Fifth Circuit’s analysis of arbitration issues is significantly influenced by the standard of review. A challenge to arbitrability involves careful scrutiny of the parties’ agreements. A challenge to the arbitration process or the ultimate award, however, faces a much more difficult standard of review. Arbitrability In Kubala v. Supreme Production Services, the parties disputed whether an arbitration agreement reached an employment claim that arose before entry into the agreement. The district...
Are Arbitrators Human?
December 14, 2016
Empirical research has confirmed the correctness of the legal realists’ assertion that “judges are human.” It demonstrates...
December 14, 2016
Empirical research has confirmed the correctness of the legal realists’ assertion that “judges are human.” It demonstrates...
Multiparty Mediation
December 13, 2016
Mediating multiparty disputes involves many of the same issues and techniques encountered in a typical two-party proceeding but often exponentially expanded due to the number of parties, issues, and perspectives involved. This increased complexity is the result of not only the number of participants but also inherent differences in negotiating styles, participants' relative authorities, divergent viewpoints, and unequal access to information. These factors can make it harder to achieve...
December 13, 2016
Mediating multiparty disputes involves many of the same issues and techniques encountered in a typical two-party proceeding but often exponentially expanded due to the number of parties, issues, and perspectives involved. This increased complexity is the result of not only the number of participants but also inherent differences in negotiating styles, participants' relative authorities, divergent viewpoints, and unequal access to information. These factors can make it harder to achieve...
Should I Trust You? Let Me See Your Face…
December 12, 2016
If you try to identify what it is that makes someone trustworthy, you might list their forthrightness, values consistent with your own, or even their willingness to embrace unpopular positions. And that is all well and good but it likely is untrue. Instead, researchers tell us, we draw “relatively stable trustworthinesss impressions from facial appearance”. Apparently, based on the photo illustrating this post (taken from the research article) we define trust as having less prominent eyebrows...
December 12, 2016
If you try to identify what it is that makes someone trustworthy, you might list their forthrightness, values consistent with your own, or even their willingness to embrace unpopular positions. And that is all well and good but it likely is untrue. Instead, researchers tell us, we draw “relatively stable trustworthinesss impressions from facial appearance”. Apparently, based on the photo illustrating this post (taken from the research article) we define trust as having less prominent eyebrows...
Medical Malpractice Litigation and the Market for Plaintiff-Side Representation: Evidence from Illinois
December 12, 2016
How concentrated is the market for medical malpractice (med mal) legal representation? Do successful plaintiffs’ lawyers start off with better cases to begin with, do they add more value to the cases they handle, or both? How do top plaintiffs’ lawyers market their services, and where did they go to school? How large are the “wages of risk”—the compensation to plaintiffs’ lawyers for working on contingency? How often do plaintiffs proceed pro se, and with what results? We address these...
December 12, 2016
How concentrated is the market for medical malpractice (med mal) legal representation? Do successful plaintiffs’ lawyers start off with better cases to begin with, do they add more value to the cases they handle, or both? How do top plaintiffs’ lawyers market their services, and where did they go to school? How large are the “wages of risk”—the compensation to plaintiffs’ lawyers for working on contingency? How often do plaintiffs proceed pro se, and with what results? We address these...
The Effect of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurance Market Trends
December 12, 2016
In this article, we examine the extent to which the timing of reforms to the tort liability system coincides with changes in medical malpractice insurance market conditions. Our research is motivated by the fact that, while policy discussions and academic research pertaining to the merits of tort reform often center on ex post effects, it is unclear whether reforms to the tort liability system are responsible for softening conditions in a medical malpractice insurance market that was previously deteriorating....
December 12, 2016
In this article, we examine the extent to which the timing of reforms to the tort liability system coincides with changes in medical malpractice insurance market conditions. Our research is motivated by the fact that, while policy discussions and academic research pertaining to the merits of tort reform often center on ex post effects, it is unclear whether reforms to the tort liability system are responsible for softening conditions in a medical malpractice insurance market that was previously deteriorating....
NYSBA/ACCTM National Championship ($10K Prize) Alternative Dispute Resolution Law Student Writing Competition
December 11, 2016
The Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association and the American College of Civil Trial Mediators are proud to announce the inauguration of the NYSBA/ACCTM National Championship Alternative Dispute Resolution Law Student Writing Competition. A $10,000 cash prize will be awarded to the winning submittal as judged by the Editorial Board of the ACCTM American Journal of Mediation along with select Fellows of the College and members of the NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section. Winning...
December 11, 2016
The Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association and the American College of Civil Trial Mediators are proud to announce the inauguration of the NYSBA/ACCTM National Championship Alternative Dispute Resolution Law Student Writing Competition. A $10,000 cash prize will be awarded to the winning submittal as judged by the Editorial Board of the ACCTM American Journal of Mediation along with select Fellows of the College and members of the NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section. Winning...
Divorce Numbers Down
December 11, 2016
From Time: The U.S. divorce rate dropped for the third year in a row, reaching its lowest point in nearly 40 years, according to data released Thursday. Marriage rates, on the other hand, increased last year. In 2015, there were 32.2 marriages for every 1,000 unmarried women age 15 or older, according to the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University. This represents a jump from 31.9 in 2014 and is the highest number of marriages since 2009, which suggests...
December 11, 2016
From Time: The U.S. divorce rate dropped for the third year in a row, reaching its lowest point in nearly 40 years, according to data released Thursday. Marriage rates, on the other hand, increased last year. In 2015, there were 32.2 marriages for every 1,000 unmarried women age 15 or older, according to the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University. This represents a jump from 31.9 in 2014 and is the highest number of marriages since 2009, which suggests...
