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Justice Is Less Blind, and Less Legalistic, than We Thought: Evidence from an Experiment with Real Judges
December 2, 2016
We experimentally investigate the determinants of judicial decisions in a setting resembling real-world judicial decision making. We gave US federal judges 55 minutes to adjudicate a real appeals case from an international tribunal, with minor modifications to accommodate the experimental treatments. The fictitious briefs focused on one easily understandable issue of law. Our 2 × 2 between-subject factorial design crossed a weak precedent and legally irrelevant defendant characteristics. In a survey,...
December 2, 2016
We experimentally investigate the determinants of judicial decisions in a setting resembling real-world judicial decision making. We gave US federal judges 55 minutes to adjudicate a real appeals case from an international tribunal, with minor modifications to accommodate the experimental treatments. The fictitious briefs focused on one easily understandable issue of law. Our 2 × 2 between-subject factorial design crossed a weak precedent and legally irrelevant defendant characteristics. In a survey,...
“Intertwined Claims” Estoppel Requires Arbitration
December 2, 2016
Hays, a cardiologist suffering from epilepsy, sued HCA for wrongful discharge as a result of mishandling his illness. The Fifth Circuit agreed that his tortious interference claim against HCA had to be arbitrated, because its viability depended on reference to the employment agreement between him and the specific hospital where he worked. It also affirmed on the theory of “intertwined claims estoppel,” making an Erie guess that the Texas Supreme Court would recognize this theory, and concluding...
December 2, 2016
Hays, a cardiologist suffering from epilepsy, sued HCA for wrongful discharge as a result of mishandling his illness. The Fifth Circuit agreed that his tortious interference claim against HCA had to be arbitrated, because its viability depended on reference to the employment agreement between him and the specific hospital where he worked. It also affirmed on the theory of “intertwined claims estoppel,” making an Erie guess that the Texas Supreme Court would recognize this theory, and concluding...
Article on Chasing Venue for Trust-Related Matters
November 22, 2016
Jocelyn M. Borowsky et al. recently published an Article entitled, Chasing Jurisdictional Unicorns: Capturing the Venue of Choice...
November 22, 2016
Jocelyn M. Borowsky et al. recently published an Article entitled, Chasing Jurisdictional Unicorns: Capturing the Venue of Choice...
Simple Bias Makes Forgiveness Hard
November 21, 2016
Tom Tate’s second visit to the German town of Pforzheim was a return to somewhere he hadn’t seen in fifty years. After bailing from a burning plane, he and his RAF squad had landed there, been captured, and his comrades executed by a Hitler Youth group incensed by the bombing the town had suffered. Tate himself had only escaped by moments, and swore never to return to a place that he believed bore only hate against him. But spurred by a magazine article that mentioned an annual service held to commemorate...
November 21, 2016
Tom Tate’s second visit to the German town of Pforzheim was a return to somewhere he hadn’t seen in fifty years. After bailing from a burning plane, he and his RAF squad had landed there, been captured, and his comrades executed by a Hitler Youth group incensed by the bombing the town had suffered. Tate himself had only escaped by moments, and swore never to return to a place that he believed bore only hate against him. But spurred by a magazine article that mentioned an annual service held to commemorate...
Certified Questions Answered About Texas Home Equity Loans
November 21, 2016
Last year, the Fifth Circuit certified these two questions to the Texas Supreme Court: 1. Does a lender or holder violate Article XVI, Section 50(a)(6)(Q)(vii) of the Texas Constitution, becoming liable for forfeiture of principal and interest, when the loan agreement incorporates the protections of Section 50(a)(6)(Q)(vii), but the lender or holder fails to return the cancelled note and release of lien upon full payment of the note and within 60 days after the borrower informs the lender or holder...
November 21, 2016
Last year, the Fifth Circuit certified these two questions to the Texas Supreme Court: 1. Does a lender or holder violate Article XVI, Section 50(a)(6)(Q)(vii) of the Texas Constitution, becoming liable for forfeiture of principal and interest, when the loan agreement incorporates the protections of Section 50(a)(6)(Q)(vii), but the lender or holder fails to return the cancelled note and release of lien upon full payment of the note and within 60 days after the borrower informs the lender or holder...
Using Graph Analysis to Root Out Complex Fraud Rings
November 21, 2016
A new form of predictive analytics offers the ability to detect fraud committed by a group or ring in real time. According to Philip Rathle, vice president of products for California-based Neo4j, graph analysis dates back to 2000, when the company’s CEO and co-founder, Emil Eifrem, created a property graph model. “The idea was, instead of trying to fit all data into these pre defined tables with pre defined attributes and then using relational technology to navigate those, store the data...
November 21, 2016
A new form of predictive analytics offers the ability to detect fraud committed by a group or ring in real time. According to Philip Rathle, vice president of products for California-based Neo4j, graph analysis dates back to 2000, when the company’s CEO and co-founder, Emil Eifrem, created a property graph model. “The idea was, instead of trying to fit all data into these pre defined tables with pre defined attributes and then using relational technology to navigate those, store the data...
‘Single-Digit Millionaires’ Like Hulk Hogan Can’t Afford Justice
November 20, 2016
Venture capitalist Peter Thiel said Monday that a “single-digit millionaire” like pro wrestler Hulk Hogan can’t get access to the U.S. legal system, as Thiel defended his decision to finance a lawsuit against Gawker Media on Hogan’s behalf. Thiel spoke at the National Press Club in Washington and defended bankrolling the lawsuit, calling Gawker a “singularly sociopathic bully.” The site outed him as gay in 2007. “If you’re a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have...
November 20, 2016
Venture capitalist Peter Thiel said Monday that a “single-digit millionaire” like pro wrestler Hulk Hogan can’t get access to the U.S. legal system, as Thiel defended his decision to finance a lawsuit against Gawker Media on Hogan’s behalf. Thiel spoke at the National Press Club in Washington and defended bankrolling the lawsuit, calling Gawker a “singularly sociopathic bully.” The site outed him as gay in 2007. “If you’re a single-digit millionaire like Hulk Hogan, you have...
Israel: Legal Tech in the Start-up Nation
November 20, 2016
That is part of the reason why the inevitable change is coming strongly to Israel now. In a competitive market like the Israeli...
November 20, 2016
That is part of the reason why the inevitable change is coming strongly to Israel now. In a competitive market like the Israeli...
$150,000 in Sanctions Against Divorcing Wife
November 20, 2016
In a divorce case that drew attention because it includes an overturned $400 million judgment and allegations of incessant forum-shopping, a Galveston, Texas, state judge most recently issued a sanctions order against the wife, which could cost her $150,000. 306th District Judge Anne Darring on Wednesday ordered Winnie Stacey Alwazzan to pay as much as that amount for her husband Isa Alwazzan's and his family company's legal fees, and more if she continues to pursue divorce litigation against...
November 20, 2016
In a divorce case that drew attention because it includes an overturned $400 million judgment and allegations of incessant forum-shopping, a Galveston, Texas, state judge most recently issued a sanctions order against the wife, which could cost her $150,000. 306th District Judge Anne Darring on Wednesday ordered Winnie Stacey Alwazzan to pay as much as that amount for her husband Isa Alwazzan's and his family company's legal fees, and more if she continues to pursue divorce litigation against...
Has Lawyer Blogging Plateaued? ABA Tech Survey Suggests So
November 19, 2016
The number of law firms with blogs has plateaued, neither growing nor dropping for four years straight, according to the 2016 Legal Technology Survey Report recently published by the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center. The survey found that 26 percent of firms have blogs. That number has remained effectively unchanged for 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. The larger the firm, the more likely it is to have a blog. Among firms of 500 or more attorneys, 60 percent have blogs,...
November 19, 2016
The number of law firms with blogs has plateaued, neither growing nor dropping for four years straight, according to the 2016 Legal Technology Survey Report recently published by the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center. The survey found that 26 percent of firms have blogs. That number has remained effectively unchanged for 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. The larger the firm, the more likely it is to have a blog. Among firms of 500 or more attorneys, 60 percent have blogs,...
