Blog Archives
Ninth Circuit Sends Uber Driver Claims to Arbitration
September 30, 2016
This is a consolidated lawsuit brought by Uber drivers asserting FCRA and employee misclassification claims. Both named drivers were terminated after negative information surfaced in their credit report. Both drivers agreed to a 2013 version of Uber’s driver agreement, and one driver agreed to a 2014 updated version. Both agreements contained arbitration clauses, and drivers could opt out of the arbitration if they followed the appropriate steps. The 2014 agreement allowed for opt-out by email....
September 30, 2016
This is a consolidated lawsuit brought by Uber drivers asserting FCRA and employee misclassification claims. Both named drivers were terminated after negative information surfaced in their credit report. Both drivers agreed to a 2013 version of Uber’s driver agreement, and one driver agreed to a 2014 updated version. Both agreements contained arbitration clauses, and drivers could opt out of the arbitration if they followed the appropriate steps. The 2014 agreement allowed for opt-out by email....
Sellers on Law, Reason, & Emotion
September 30, 2016
Mortimer Newlin Stead Sellers (University of Baltimore - School of Law) has posted Law, Reason, and Emotion (Philosophy of Law and Theory of the State No. 1-2) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provoke some thought about the relationship between "Law, Reason, and Emotion" (the theme of the 2015 IVR World Congress in Washington, DC), The author suggests that law, reason and emotion are inextricably intertwined and in fact the central values of any effective system of justice,...
September 30, 2016
Mortimer Newlin Stead Sellers (University of Baltimore - School of Law) has posted Law, Reason, and Emotion (Philosophy of Law and Theory of the State No. 1-2) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provoke some thought about the relationship between "Law, Reason, and Emotion" (the theme of the 2015 IVR World Congress in Washington, DC), The author suggests that law, reason and emotion are inextricably intertwined and in fact the central values of any effective system of justice,...
Dentons-Backed NextLaw Ventures Invests in Transaction Automation Startup, Doxly
September 29, 2016
Nextlaw Ventures the sister company of NextLaw Labs, the legal tech development group of global law firm Dentons has announced an investment in Doxly, a legal process automation startup with a focus on transactions. This investment marks Nextlaw Labs’ third addition to its portfolio, following investments in ROSS Intelligence Inc and Apperio, a UK-based startup that helps with fee transparency. NextLaw Labs and Dentons have also worked with UK-based legal AI company RAVN to develop a ‘Brexit...
September 29, 2016
Nextlaw Ventures the sister company of NextLaw Labs, the legal tech development group of global law firm Dentons has announced an investment in Doxly, a legal process automation startup with a focus on transactions. This investment marks Nextlaw Labs’ third addition to its portfolio, following investments in ROSS Intelligence Inc and Apperio, a UK-based startup that helps with fee transparency. NextLaw Labs and Dentons have also worked with UK-based legal AI company RAVN to develop a ‘Brexit...
Lex Machina Unveils Law Firm and Judges Comparator Apps
September 29, 2016
Silicon Valley-headquartered legal analytics company Lex Machina will today (20 September) unveil two new applications that instantly compare the court results and performance of both law firms and courts and judges in the U.S. Lex Machina, which was acquired by LexisNexis in November 2015, has launched a Courts & Judges Comparator and Law Firms Comparator app. Building on its software-as-a-service Legal Analytics platform, lawyers will be able to compare up to four law firms between specified...
September 29, 2016
Silicon Valley-headquartered legal analytics company Lex Machina will today (20 September) unveil two new applications that instantly compare the court results and performance of both law firms and courts and judges in the U.S. Lex Machina, which was acquired by LexisNexis in November 2015, has launched a Courts & Judges Comparator and Law Firms Comparator app. Building on its software-as-a-service Legal Analytics platform, lawyers will be able to compare up to four law firms between specified...
Waldman & Ojelabi on Mediation & the Original Position
September 29, 2016
Ellen A. Waldman and Lola Akin Ojelabi (Thomas Jefferson School of Law and La Trobe University - School of Law) have posted Mediators and Substantive Justice: A View from Rawls' Original Position (30(3) Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 391) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article explores substantive justice and mediation from the philosopher John Rawls' concept of the original position. Whether mediators do or should care about substantive justice is a question that continues to bedevil...
September 29, 2016
Ellen A. Waldman and Lola Akin Ojelabi (Thomas Jefferson School of Law and La Trobe University - School of Law) have posted Mediators and Substantive Justice: A View from Rawls' Original Position (30(3) Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 391) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article explores substantive justice and mediation from the philosopher John Rawls' concept of the original position. Whether mediators do or should care about substantive justice is a question that continues to bedevil...
‘Embrace AI and Legal Tech’ – English Law Soc Head Urges World’s Lawyers
September 28, 2016
In a keynote speech to the global legal profession, English Law Society CEO, Catherine Dixon, has praised the benefits of AI and urged lawyers to embrace the new wave of advanced legal tech. The comments were part of a speech at the International Bar Association‘s annual gathering in Washington DC this week and are one of the most forthright and supportive statements on legal AI from a representative or regulatory body for lawyers. Catherine Dixon, CEO, Law Society of England & WalesDixon...
September 28, 2016
In a keynote speech to the global legal profession, English Law Society CEO, Catherine Dixon, has praised the benefits of AI and urged lawyers to embrace the new wave of advanced legal tech. The comments were part of a speech at the International Bar Association‘s annual gathering in Washington DC this week and are one of the most forthright and supportive statements on legal AI from a representative or regulatory body for lawyers. Catherine Dixon, CEO, Law Society of England & WalesDixon...
The Ethics and Practice of Drafting Pre-Dispute Resolution Clauses
September 28, 2016
Kristen M. Blankley, Associate Professor and Director of the Robert J. Kutak Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics at the University of Nebraska College of Law, has published “The Ethics and Practice of Drafting Pre-Dispute Resolution Clauses,” Creighton Law Review, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 743-774, 2016. In her scholarly paper, Professor Blankley argues transactional lawyers should “consider more fully the potential for dispute resolution at the outset of a contractual relationship...
September 28, 2016
Kristen M. Blankley, Associate Professor and Director of the Robert J. Kutak Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics at the University of Nebraska College of Law, has published “The Ethics and Practice of Drafting Pre-Dispute Resolution Clauses,” Creighton Law Review, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 743-774, 2016. In her scholarly paper, Professor Blankley argues transactional lawyers should “consider more fully the potential for dispute resolution at the outset of a contractual relationship...
Your Needs Are Not Their Needs
September 28, 2016
There are several strategies to use when trying to negotiate to the other side’s needs. First, consider whether the information that you want to communicate will be important to the other side. Next, ask yourself why? Why would the other side need this information? Is it to help with the damages, to change their mind, help them understand the facts? Then, you need to ask yourself how this information will benefit the other side? Will the information change liability, alter damages,...
September 28, 2016
There are several strategies to use when trying to negotiate to the other side’s needs. First, consider whether the information that you want to communicate will be important to the other side. Next, ask yourself why? Why would the other side need this information? Is it to help with the damages, to change their mind, help them understand the facts? Then, you need to ask yourself how this information will benefit the other side? Will the information change liability, alter damages,...
Meditation for Law Students: Mindfulness Practice as Experiential Learning
September 27, 2016
In today’s competitive law school environment, research indicates that many students arrive in law school with anxiety or emotional difficulties or develop them due to stress inherent in law school studies. In fact, law school more than other course of graduate study creates stress-induced difficulties in students, and these difficulties often persist in the practice of law. When law schools teach mindfulness, they recognize that law students suffer from stress and its harms, and that mindfulness...
September 27, 2016
In today’s competitive law school environment, research indicates that many students arrive in law school with anxiety or emotional difficulties or develop them due to stress inherent in law school studies. In fact, law school more than other course of graduate study creates stress-induced difficulties in students, and these difficulties often persist in the practice of law. When law schools teach mindfulness, they recognize that law students suffer from stress and its harms, and that mindfulness...
Second Circuit Upholds Employment-Related Class-Action Waiver
September 27, 2016
On September 2nd, a panel for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a summary order that an employer’s mandatory class action waiver requiring workers to engage in individual arbitration is enforceable and does not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In Patterson v. Raymours Furniture, No. 15-2820 (2d Cir. Sept. 2, 2016 [and corrected on September 7, 2016]), Raymours Furniture Company (“Raymours”) required each of its employees to agree to participate in the company’s...
September 27, 2016
On September 2nd, a panel for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a summary order that an employer’s mandatory class action waiver requiring workers to engage in individual arbitration is enforceable and does not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In Patterson v. Raymours Furniture, No. 15-2820 (2d Cir. Sept. 2, 2016 [and corrected on September 7, 2016]), Raymours Furniture Company (“Raymours”) required each of its employees to agree to participate in the company’s...
