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Magistrate Judges, Remand Rulings, and Appellate Review
June 6, 2016
A magistrate judge ordered remand to state court in Davidson v. Georgia-Pacific. The Fifth Circuit concluded that because “a remand order is dispositive insofar as proceedings in the federal court are concerned,” it is “the functional equivalent of an order of dismissal.” Therefore, a magistrate judge could not make a final ruling on a motion to remand. In so holding, the Court “join[s] the uniform view of the courts of appeals that have considered this question[.]” No. 14-30925 (April...
June 6, 2016
A magistrate judge ordered remand to state court in Davidson v. Georgia-Pacific. The Fifth Circuit concluded that because “a remand order is dispositive insofar as proceedings in the federal court are concerned,” it is “the functional equivalent of an order of dismissal.” Therefore, a magistrate judge could not make a final ruling on a motion to remand. In so holding, the Court “join[s] the uniform view of the courts of appeals that have considered this question[.]” No. 14-30925 (April...
The Importance of Learning How to Fail
June 5, 2016
“An expert is a person who has found out by his own painful experience all the mistakes that one can make in a very narrow...
June 5, 2016
“An expert is a person who has found out by his own painful experience all the mistakes that one can make in a very narrow...
Minnesota Law School, Facing Waning Interest, Cuts Admissions
June 5, 2016
On a recent rainy spring day, students and professors at the University of Minnesota Law School looked ahead to year-end exams and May 14 graduation as they bustled between classes. But behind the academic routine, Minnesota’s administration, as at other law schools across the country, was striving to respond to the public’s growing disinterest in law careers. The number of law school applicants nationwide has plummeted, to 51,000 as of April from 88,700 in 2006, according to the Law School...
June 5, 2016
On a recent rainy spring day, students and professors at the University of Minnesota Law School looked ahead to year-end exams and May 14 graduation as they bustled between classes. But behind the academic routine, Minnesota’s administration, as at other law schools across the country, was striving to respond to the public’s growing disinterest in law careers. The number of law school applicants nationwide has plummeted, to 51,000 as of April from 88,700 in 2006, according to the Law School...
PwC: World Drone Market Seen Nearing $127B in 2020
June 5, 2016
Drones will soon be boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims, and assisting in future Hollywood blockbusters in a business that’s due to boom by more than 6,000 percent by the end of the decade. The global market for commercial applications of drone technology, currently estimated at about $2 billion, will balloon to as much as $127 billion by 2020, consulting group PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said in a report published on Monday.
June 5, 2016
Drones will soon be boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims, and assisting in future Hollywood blockbusters in a business that’s due to boom by more than 6,000 percent by the end of the decade. The global market for commercial applications of drone technology, currently estimated at about $2 billion, will balloon to as much as $127 billion by 2020, consulting group PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said in a report published on Monday.
You Can’t Speed Read Without Hurting Comprehension
June 4, 2016
NY Times Sorry You Can't Speed Read by Jeffrey M. Zacks & Rebecca Treiman. "Unfortunately, the scientific consensus suggests that such enterprises should be viewed with suspicion. In a recent article in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, one of us (Professor Treiman) and colleagues reviewed the empirical literature on reading and concluded that it’s extremely unlikely you can greatly improve your reading speed without missing out on a lot of meaning." "Techniques that aim to guide...
June 4, 2016
NY Times Sorry You Can't Speed Read by Jeffrey M. Zacks & Rebecca Treiman. "Unfortunately, the scientific consensus suggests that such enterprises should be viewed with suspicion. In a recent article in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, one of us (Professor Treiman) and colleagues reviewed the empirical literature on reading and concluded that it’s extremely unlikely you can greatly improve your reading speed without missing out on a lot of meaning." "Techniques that aim to guide...
Has Dentons Just Built a Leading Legal Directory?
June 4, 2016
You have to take your hat off to Dentons. Not content with growing to become the world’s largest law firm, it has now launched a new online site to connect lawyers and drive referral business. Named Nextlaw Global Referral Network, Dentons said in announcement that the new technology platform will allow member law firms to easily connect and track referrals. Dentons currently refers work to almost 1,000 firms, and picked up 500 inbound referrals in 2015, making it the largest law firm...
June 4, 2016
You have to take your hat off to Dentons. Not content with growing to become the world’s largest law firm, it has now launched a new online site to connect lawyers and drive referral business. Named Nextlaw Global Referral Network, Dentons said in announcement that the new technology platform will allow member law firms to easily connect and track referrals. Dentons currently refers work to almost 1,000 firms, and picked up 500 inbound referrals in 2015, making it the largest law firm...
The Social Construction of Stories
June 4, 2016
I went for dinner with a friend who spent the whole of the evening complaining about her job, her boss, her colleagues, and her commute. Everything about her day-to-day experiences was miserable. Then, at the end of dinner, she said, "I love where I work." That's quite common. She was working for an organization where she'd always wanted to work, her parents were proud, her friends were jealous. How could she not be happy when she thought about the story of how happy she was where she was working?...
June 4, 2016
I went for dinner with a friend who spent the whole of the evening complaining about her job, her boss, her colleagues, and her commute. Everything about her day-to-day experiences was miserable. Then, at the end of dinner, she said, "I love where I work." That's quite common. She was working for an organization where she'd always wanted to work, her parents were proud, her friends were jealous. How could she not be happy when she thought about the story of how happy she was where she was working?...
Monopolies in Multidistrict Litigation – Part II – Lead Lawyers as Settlement Gatekeepers
June 3, 2016
In my first post on Monopolies in Multidistrict Litigation, I noted that lead lawyers and defendants seem to benefit in tandem from the settlements they negotiate. This second post, Part II, explains how repeat players on both plaintiff and defense sides have perfected a fundamental shift in settlement design. As I elaborate on pages 19-21, the demise of the mass tort class action makes it more difficult for defendants to achieve holistic closure, for MDL settlements technically bind only those...
June 3, 2016
In my first post on Monopolies in Multidistrict Litigation, I noted that lead lawyers and defendants seem to benefit in tandem from the settlements they negotiate. This second post, Part II, explains how repeat players on both plaintiff and defense sides have perfected a fundamental shift in settlement design. As I elaborate on pages 19-21, the demise of the mass tort class action makes it more difficult for defendants to achieve holistic closure, for MDL settlements technically bind only those...
Aggregation as Disempowerment: Red Flags in Class Action Settlements
June 3, 2016
Our own Howie Erichson has posted his latest piece, Aggregation in Disempowerment: Red Flags in Class Action Settlements, on SSRN. It's a great read for judges and attorneys alike and points out--as the title suggests--provisions in class action settlements that should give judges pause before approving a class settlement. Here's the abstract: Class action critics and proponents cling to the conventional wisdom that class actions empower claimants. Critics complain that class actions over-empower...
June 3, 2016
Our own Howie Erichson has posted his latest piece, Aggregation in Disempowerment: Red Flags in Class Action Settlements, on SSRN. It's a great read for judges and attorneys alike and points out--as the title suggests--provisions in class action settlements that should give judges pause before approving a class settlement. Here's the abstract: Class action critics and proponents cling to the conventional wisdom that class actions empower claimants. Critics complain that class actions over-empower...
7 Things to Say When a Conversation Turns Negative
June 3, 2016
Reframe — Cast the issue in a different light. Describe the other person’s words or actions in a way that behooves future interactions. If someone says, “I don’t want to fight about this,” a useful reframe of that comment is, “This is a debate, certainly not a fight. And you’re a good debater, as I recall.” Rephrase — Say the words in a different, less negative way. Should someone accuse you of having come on too strongly in a meeting, you might reply, “I was passionate.”...
June 3, 2016
Reframe — Cast the issue in a different light. Describe the other person’s words or actions in a way that behooves future interactions. If someone says, “I don’t want to fight about this,” a useful reframe of that comment is, “This is a debate, certainly not a fight. And you’re a good debater, as I recall.” Rephrase — Say the words in a different, less negative way. Should someone accuse you of having come on too strongly in a meeting, you might reply, “I was passionate.”...
