Blog Archives
Soon Women Can Try Negotiating for Better Pay in Virtual Reality
July 22, 2016
As part of the White House's push to achieve equal pay in the foreseeable future, seven new apps were designed by tech companies and programmers over the course of a two-month hackathon. One of the programs developed was a negotiation simulator that a user can experience in virtual reality. The WSJ reports: Variable Labs, of Oakland, Calif, developed the negotiation simulator. The app for a Samsung Gear VR device intends to help users practice negotiation techniques and improve soft skills in an interview...
July 22, 2016
As part of the White House's push to achieve equal pay in the foreseeable future, seven new apps were designed by tech companies and programmers over the course of a two-month hackathon. One of the programs developed was a negotiation simulator that a user can experience in virtual reality. The WSJ reports: Variable Labs, of Oakland, Calif, developed the negotiation simulator. The app for a Samsung Gear VR device intends to help users practice negotiation techniques and improve soft skills in an interview...
Google Cuts Its Giant Electricity Bill With DeepMind-Powered AI
July 22, 2016
Google just paid for part of its acquisition of DeepMind in a surprising way. The internet giant is using technology from the DeepMind artificial intelligence subsidiary for big savings on the power consumed by its data centers, according to DeepMind Co-Founder Demis Hassabis. In recent months, the Alphabet Inc. unit put a DeepMind AI system in control of parts of its data centers to reduce power consumption by manipulating computer servers and related equipment like cooling systems. It uses...
July 22, 2016
Google just paid for part of its acquisition of DeepMind in a surprising way. The internet giant is using technology from the DeepMind artificial intelligence subsidiary for big savings on the power consumed by its data centers, according to DeepMind Co-Founder Demis Hassabis. In recent months, the Alphabet Inc. unit put a DeepMind AI system in control of parts of its data centers to reduce power consumption by manipulating computer servers and related equipment like cooling systems. It uses...
West Point Taps Artificial Intelligence to Help Cadets Negotiate
July 22, 2016
A company that sells software that analyzes the human voice and touts the virtues of empathy, rapport and emotional intelligence is joining forces with West Point United States Military Academy in an effort to help cadets become better negotiators. Cogito Corp. is a Boston-based company that makes software that can analyze a person’s voice in real-time. That information, the company says, can help customer service representatives show more empathy; the result is phone conversations that are more...
July 22, 2016
A company that sells software that analyzes the human voice and touts the virtues of empathy, rapport and emotional intelligence is joining forces with West Point United States Military Academy in an effort to help cadets become better negotiators. Cogito Corp. is a Boston-based company that makes software that can analyze a person’s voice in real-time. That information, the company says, can help customer service representatives show more empathy; the result is phone conversations that are more...
Courts Approve Terms of Service-Based Arbitration Clauses for Uber and Groupon
July 21, 2016
Online terms, and in particular arbitration clauses, have been subject to attack by plaintiffs’ lawyers. News reports have also raised the specter of over-the-top online terms that no one but the lawyers read. However, with the exception of some aberrational decisions, for the most part courts have enforced arbitration clauses, including class action waivers, in properly formed clickthrough agreements. Cullinane v. Uber Techs.: This is a lawsuit over hidden fees or overcharges for rides to and from...
July 21, 2016
Online terms, and in particular arbitration clauses, have been subject to attack by plaintiffs’ lawyers. News reports have also raised the specter of over-the-top online terms that no one but the lawyers read. However, with the exception of some aberrational decisions, for the most part courts have enforced arbitration clauses, including class action waivers, in properly formed clickthrough agreements. Cullinane v. Uber Techs.: This is a lawsuit over hidden fees or overcharges for rides to and from...
“Modified Clickwrap” Upheld In Court–Moule v. UPS
July 21, 2016
Let’s review the state of play: * courts say online contracts should be categorizable as “clickwraps” or “browsewraps” * courts usually enforce clickwraps but not browsewraps * despite the categories, courts don’t view clickwraps and browsewraps as abutting circles on a Venn diagram. Instead, the circles apparently are partially overlapping. This is resulting in analytical confusion * because courts don’t understand the definitions of “clickwrap” or “browsewrap,” the courts...
July 21, 2016
Let’s review the state of play: * courts say online contracts should be categorizable as “clickwraps” or “browsewraps” * courts usually enforce clickwraps but not browsewraps * despite the categories, courts don’t view clickwraps and browsewraps as abutting circles on a Venn diagram. Instead, the circles apparently are partially overlapping. This is resulting in analytical confusion * because courts don’t understand the definitions of “clickwrap” or “browsewrap,” the courts...
Class Rep Can Opt Out of Arbitration for All (And Other Recent State Court Anomalies)
July 21, 2016
Continuing last week’s theme of “States Gone Wild,” here are three more oddball summer decisions from state supreme courts. All of them find interesting paths around federal case law (IMHO). Georgia Says Class Complaint Is Deemed Arbitration Opt Out For All Class Members In Bickerstaff v. SunTrust Bank, 2016 WL 3693778 (Ga. July 8, 2016), the issue was whether a class action challenging overdraft fees could proceed in court. The class complaint was filed in July of 2010, and in August...
July 21, 2016
Continuing last week’s theme of “States Gone Wild,” here are three more oddball summer decisions from state supreme courts. All of them find interesting paths around federal case law (IMHO). Georgia Says Class Complaint Is Deemed Arbitration Opt Out For All Class Members In Bickerstaff v. SunTrust Bank, 2016 WL 3693778 (Ga. July 8, 2016), the issue was whether a class action challenging overdraft fees could proceed in court. The class complaint was filed in July of 2010, and in August...
Brexit and EU Mediation
July 20, 2016
In the aftermath of the Brexit vote and the appointment of Theresa May as England’s Prime Minister, there are many things to think about and there will be much to negotiate. While some commentators anticipate a U-turn on Brexit, Theresa May has made it clear that “Brexit means Brexit” – whatever that means. In this post, I want to pay attention to cross-border mediation within the EU and, in particular, the impact Brexit may have on how London is perceived as a venue for cross-border mediation...
July 20, 2016
In the aftermath of the Brexit vote and the appointment of Theresa May as England’s Prime Minister, there are many things to think about and there will be much to negotiate. While some commentators anticipate a U-turn on Brexit, Theresa May has made it clear that “Brexit means Brexit” – whatever that means. In this post, I want to pay attention to cross-border mediation within the EU and, in particular, the impact Brexit may have on how London is perceived as a venue for cross-border mediation...
Public Meeting Held Over Texas Insurer’s Proposed Mediation-Arbitration Endorsement
July 20, 2016
Yesterday, the Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) held a public meeting in Austin regarding a Texas insurer’s request to add an optional endorsement to the company’s homeowners insurance policies. During the meeting that was presided over by Texas Insurance Commissioner David Mattax, Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Companies sought approval for its proposal to allow insureds to relinquish their right to sue the company in the event of a claim dispute in exchange for a lower homeowners’...
July 20, 2016
Yesterday, the Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) held a public meeting in Austin regarding a Texas insurer’s request to add an optional endorsement to the company’s homeowners insurance policies. During the meeting that was presided over by Texas Insurance Commissioner David Mattax, Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Companies sought approval for its proposal to allow insureds to relinquish their right to sue the company in the event of a claim dispute in exchange for a lower homeowners’...
Trusting Intuition
July 20, 2016
In his bestselling book, Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2011) notes that our brains contain two systems of thought: System 1 which “… operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control” (Id. at 20) and System 2 which “…allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations….” (Id. at 21.) Thus, while System 1 is quick, automatic and requires little...
July 20, 2016
In his bestselling book, Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2011) notes that our brains contain two systems of thought: System 1 which “… operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control” (Id. at 20) and System 2 which “…allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations….” (Id. at 21.) Thus, while System 1 is quick, automatic and requires little...
First Anniversary of EU Consumer ADR Regime
July 19, 2016
The Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes (Directive on consumer ADR) obliged Member States to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with said Directive by 9 July 2015. Today we should hence be celebrating the first anniversary of the new ADR regime coming in force for European consumers. However, due to delays and problems in the transposition processes...
July 19, 2016
The Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes (Directive on consumer ADR) obliged Member States to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with said Directive by 9 July 2015. Today we should hence be celebrating the first anniversary of the new ADR regime coming in force for European consumers. However, due to delays and problems in the transposition processes...
