Blog Archives
A Conceptual Typology of Kin-State Mediation
July 29, 2016
In this article, I argue that kin states can play major roles in international mediation processes involving their kin communities. Although kin states may be naturally biased toward their kin, kin states are sometimes actively involved in mediation processes and such involvement is even encouraged by third-party mediators. In this study, I divide the various roles assumed by kin states in mediation into four main conceptual categories: promoter, quasi-mediator, powerbroker, and enforcer. My analysis...
July 29, 2016
In this article, I argue that kin states can play major roles in international mediation processes involving their kin communities. Although kin states may be naturally biased toward their kin, kin states are sometimes actively involved in mediation processes and such involvement is even encouraged by third-party mediators. In this study, I divide the various roles assumed by kin states in mediation into four main conceptual categories: promoter, quasi-mediator, powerbroker, and enforcer. My analysis...
Couple Awarded $331,000 in Compensatory Damages Following FINRA Arbitration
July 29, 2016
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) arbitration panel has reportedly ordered a wealth management adviser to pay a couple $331,000 in compensatory damages for making unsuitable, high-risk investments. In Arbitration Case No. 15-00443, the couple sought nearly $1.1 million for “breach of contract and breach of implied contract, violation of Rule 10(13)-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, negligence, common law fraud, breach of the standard and customs of the securities...
July 29, 2016
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) arbitration panel has reportedly ordered a wealth management adviser to pay a couple $331,000 in compensatory damages for making unsuitable, high-risk investments. In Arbitration Case No. 15-00443, the couple sought nearly $1.1 million for “breach of contract and breach of implied contract, violation of Rule 10(13)-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, negligence, common law fraud, breach of the standard and customs of the securities...
AI-Adopters Will Leave Rival Law Firms in Their Dust
July 28, 2016
Could you expand on why law firms which wait too long to adopt AI will lose out? AI has the power to vastly improve project execution be it from a time, cost or ‘accuracy’ standpoint. This in turn enhances a law firm’s value proposition and as such improves their chance of winning business. In the first instance AI may be seen as a differentiator in a world of relatively homogenous service offerings. Richard Belgrave, UK Managing Director of LEVERTONAlso, as is especially true...
July 28, 2016
Could you expand on why law firms which wait too long to adopt AI will lose out? AI has the power to vastly improve project execution be it from a time, cost or ‘accuracy’ standpoint. This in turn enhances a law firm’s value proposition and as such improves their chance of winning business. In the first instance AI may be seen as a differentiator in a world of relatively homogenous service offerings. Richard Belgrave, UK Managing Director of LEVERTONAlso, as is especially true...
Are Rules Allowing Arbitral Sanctions a Mirage?
July 28, 2016
Paul Bennett Marrow, Adjunct Professor at New York Law School, Member of the Commercial Panel for the American Arbitration Association, ADR Systems, Public Member of the FINRA Panel of Neutrals, and Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London, England, has published “Are Rules Allowing Arbitral Sanctions a Mirage?,” 88 Journal New York State Bar Association 28, June 2016. In his publication, Mr. Morrow discusses whether an arbitrator may use permissive procedures to impose sanctions...
July 28, 2016
Paul Bennett Marrow, Adjunct Professor at New York Law School, Member of the Commercial Panel for the American Arbitration Association, ADR Systems, Public Member of the FINRA Panel of Neutrals, and Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London, England, has published “Are Rules Allowing Arbitral Sanctions a Mirage?,” 88 Journal New York State Bar Association 28, June 2016. In his publication, Mr. Morrow discusses whether an arbitrator may use permissive procedures to impose sanctions...
A Fresh Look at Plausibility Pleading
July 28, 2016
The plausibility pleading regime of Twombly and Iqbal has generated continuing controversy and concern over its effects on the ability of plaintiffs, particularly certain categories of civil rights plaintiffs, to bring cases in federal court. This Article assesses the effects of plausibility pleading by undertaking a novel thought experiment: What would plaintiffs’ filing and pleading decisions look like in a world with no pleading standard at all? In other words, what if there were no motions...
July 28, 2016
The plausibility pleading regime of Twombly and Iqbal has generated continuing controversy and concern over its effects on the ability of plaintiffs, particularly certain categories of civil rights plaintiffs, to bring cases in federal court. This Article assesses the effects of plausibility pleading by undertaking a novel thought experiment: What would plaintiffs’ filing and pleading decisions look like in a world with no pleading standard at all? In other words, what if there were no motions...
Smart Contracts Could Help Reduce Corruption
July 27, 2016
3) How far do you see smart contracts impacting (both positively and negatively) the legal sector, given that most contracts are produced at present by lawyers? I think it will have a transformative impact for contracts where clarity of terms is important; a smart contract is almost always clearer than legalese. Sergey Nazarov, CEO, Smartcontract.comI expect they will be used little in contracts where “strategic ambiguity” allows avoiding the discussion of scenarios that don’t need to be discussed...
July 27, 2016
3) How far do you see smart contracts impacting (both positively and negatively) the legal sector, given that most contracts are produced at present by lawyers? I think it will have a transformative impact for contracts where clarity of terms is important; a smart contract is almost always clearer than legalese. Sergey Nazarov, CEO, Smartcontract.comI expect they will be used little in contracts where “strategic ambiguity” allows avoiding the discussion of scenarios that don’t need to be discussed...
9th Circuit Narrows Grounds For Vacating Labor Arbitration Awardsa
July 27, 2016
Finding that some of its previous pronouncements were leading district court judges astray, the Ninth Circuit clarified its precedent regarding the scope of review of labor arbitration awards. “We conclude that it is time for us to retire the use of ‘plausibility’ as a term to describe the courts’ role in reviewing labor arbitration awards.” Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters v. Drywall Dynamics, Inc., 2016 WL 2909241 (9th Cir. May 19, 2016). In Drywall Dynamics, the district court...
July 27, 2016
Finding that some of its previous pronouncements were leading district court judges astray, the Ninth Circuit clarified its precedent regarding the scope of review of labor arbitration awards. “We conclude that it is time for us to retire the use of ‘plausibility’ as a term to describe the courts’ role in reviewing labor arbitration awards.” Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters v. Drywall Dynamics, Inc., 2016 WL 2909241 (9th Cir. May 19, 2016). In Drywall Dynamics, the district court...
Texas Supreme Court Adopts Judicial Error Rule in Legal Mal Cases
July 27, 2016
Justice Eva Guzman, writing for the Court, began by observing that the issue presented was one of first impression and that the analysis would be guided by “established negligence and proximate-cause principles.” The Court carefully explored the difference between a concurring cause and a superseding cause. The former “concurs with the continuing and cooperating original negligence in working the injury, leaving the causal connection between the defendant’s negligence and the plaintiff’s...
July 27, 2016
Justice Eva Guzman, writing for the Court, began by observing that the issue presented was one of first impression and that the analysis would be guided by “established negligence and proximate-cause principles.” The Court carefully explored the difference between a concurring cause and a superseding cause. The former “concurs with the continuing and cooperating original negligence in working the injury, leaving the causal connection between the defendant’s negligence and the plaintiff’s...
Use Visual Teaching to Educate Your Client and the Opposing Party
July 26, 2016
Not all brains are wired the same. We learn in different ways. Trying to educate someone in the style that works best for you may not work the best for that other person. Adapting how you provide information to your audience may make your presentation and your argument more effective. People learn in different ways. Auditory learners: Retain more information that is told to them. You may want to regulate your voice tone, inflection and body language. Visual learners: Benefit from diagrams,...
July 26, 2016
Not all brains are wired the same. We learn in different ways. Trying to educate someone in the style that works best for you may not work the best for that other person. Adapting how you provide information to your audience may make your presentation and your argument more effective. People learn in different ways. Auditory learners: Retain more information that is told to them. You may want to regulate your voice tone, inflection and body language. Visual learners: Benefit from diagrams,...
Escape from the Laboratory: Ethnographic Methods in the Study of Elder and Family Court Mediation
July 26, 2016
The randomized control trial and pre/post research designs are commonly used in applied research and provide common standards for mediation evaluation research. These approaches have many benefits, particularly for evaluating whether mediation as an experimental intervention works or not. Scholars and practitioners, however, want to know not only whether mediation can work as expected but also how it works in a range of real-world contexts over time. In these contexts, ideal experimental...
July 26, 2016
The randomized control trial and pre/post research designs are commonly used in applied research and provide common standards for mediation evaluation research. These approaches have many benefits, particularly for evaluating whether mediation as an experimental intervention works or not. Scholars and practitioners, however, want to know not only whether mediation can work as expected but also how it works in a range of real-world contexts over time. In these contexts, ideal experimental...
