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Enforceability of Forum Selection Clauses
June 26, 2014
It is not unusual for parties to agree to settle disputes in a preselected court or arbitration proceeding, in a preselected location. These are referred to as “forum selection” provisions. The Supreme Court recently addressed the enforceability of such clauses in Atlantic Marine Construction Co., Inc. v. United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2013 WL 6231157 (U.S. Dec. 3, 2013). Atlantic Marine, a Virginia corporation, entered into a contract with the U.S. Army Corps...
June 26, 2014
It is not unusual for parties to agree to settle disputes in a preselected court or arbitration proceeding, in a preselected location. These are referred to as “forum selection” provisions. The Supreme Court recently addressed the enforceability of such clauses in Atlantic Marine Construction Co., Inc. v. United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2013 WL 6231157 (U.S. Dec. 3, 2013). Atlantic Marine, a Virginia corporation, entered into a contract with the U.S. Army Corps...
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in Delaware Arbitration Case
June 25, 2014
In 2009, the Delaware State Legislature amended the rules governing the resolution of disputes in the Court of Chancery. The law gave chancery judges the power to privately arbitrate business disputes when agreed to by the parties. The dispute must involve at least one business entity and one party must be a citizen of Delaware. Business disputes involving consumers could not be submitted to the program. If the only remedy sought was monetary relief, the amount in controversy must exceed one million...
June 25, 2014
In 2009, the Delaware State Legislature amended the rules governing the resolution of disputes in the Court of Chancery. The law gave chancery judges the power to privately arbitrate business disputes when agreed to by the parties. The dispute must involve at least one business entity and one party must be a citizen of Delaware. Business disputes involving consumers could not be submitted to the program. If the only remedy sought was monetary relief, the amount in controversy must exceed one million...
Utah Lawyer Asks To Broadcast Divorce Court Proceedings
June 25, 2014
A Salt Lake City lawyer hopes to broadcast divorce court proceedings on his YouTube channel, but he has had little luck persuading judges to agree. Lawyer Eric Johnson came up with the idea after Utah opened its courts to electronic media coverage last year, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The state allowed TV cameras in courtrooms, as well as smartphones, tablets and laptops. Judges who objected to the electronic devices would have to justify banning them, according to previous coverage by the newspaper.
June 25, 2014
A Salt Lake City lawyer hopes to broadcast divorce court proceedings on his YouTube channel, but he has had little luck persuading judges to agree. Lawyer Eric Johnson came up with the idea after Utah opened its courts to electronic media coverage last year, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The state allowed TV cameras in courtrooms, as well as smartphones, tablets and laptops. Judges who objected to the electronic devices would have to justify banning them, according to previous coverage by the newspaper.
Ex-Google Lawyer on Becoming an Ex-Google Lawyer
June 24, 2014
Michael Yang, the general counsel of the photo-sharing website Pinterest Inc., has been asked so often for advice about leaving Google Inc.’s legal department (which he did) that he has written an essay suggesting what factors to consider when making a move. And Yang, a former deputy general counsel at Google before joining Pinterest in 2012, has plenty of good things to say about his former employer in "Should I Leave Google Legal?" on the social publishing platform Medium. First, Yang asks...
June 24, 2014
Michael Yang, the general counsel of the photo-sharing website Pinterest Inc., has been asked so often for advice about leaving Google Inc.’s legal department (which he did) that he has written an essay suggesting what factors to consider when making a move. And Yang, a former deputy general counsel at Google before joining Pinterest in 2012, has plenty of good things to say about his former employer in "Should I Leave Google Legal?" on the social publishing platform Medium. First, Yang asks...
Lawyers May Look at What Jurors Post Online, But Only if it’s Available to the Public
June 24, 2014
Courts have been dealing for a while now with jurors discussing the trials they're deciding through postings on websites...
June 24, 2014
Courts have been dealing for a while now with jurors discussing the trials they're deciding through postings on websites...
Building Our Maps: Legal Infrastructure in the Age of Data
June 24, 2014
When Google set out to build a self-driving car, it first had to map the physical world. In short, Google had to figure out how to make a red light hanging from a pole—or a person crossing the street—into something a computer could understand and act on. To do this, a myriad of analog data points need to be gathered—by radar, GPS, and other sensors—before they can be turned into the digital signals that can be compared and analyzed. It’s this key infrastructure, akin to building a digital...
June 24, 2014
When Google set out to build a self-driving car, it first had to map the physical world. In short, Google had to figure out how to make a red light hanging from a pole—or a person crossing the street—into something a computer could understand and act on. To do this, a myriad of analog data points need to be gathered—by radar, GPS, and other sensors—before they can be turned into the digital signals that can be compared and analyzed. It’s this key infrastructure, akin to building a digital...
What Constitutes Arbitration for Federal Arbitration Act Purposes?
June 24, 2014
The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1–16, codifies the federal policy of enforcing arbitration agreements. In Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp., 460 U.S. 1 (1983), the Supreme Court noted that “Section 2 [of the Act] is a congressional declaration of a liberal federal policy favoring arbitration, notwithstanding any state substantive or procedural policies to the contrary. The effect of the section is to create a body of federal substantive law of arbitrability,...
June 24, 2014
The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1–16, codifies the federal policy of enforcing arbitration agreements. In Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital v. Mercury Construction Corp., 460 U.S. 1 (1983), the Supreme Court noted that “Section 2 [of the Act] is a congressional declaration of a liberal federal policy favoring arbitration, notwithstanding any state substantive or procedural policies to the contrary. The effect of the section is to create a body of federal substantive law of arbitrability,...
Noncompetes Are Popping Up in the Strangest Places
June 24, 2014
It’s not unusual to be asked to sign a noncompete clause if you’re working for a company with trade secrets to guard. But imagine being forced to do so in order to get a job as a hair stylist or camp counselor. According to an article in The New York Times by Steven Greenhouse, that’s what is happening. He says everyone from event planners and chefs to investment fund managers and yoga instructors are increasingly being required to sign agreements prohibiting them from working for the company’s...
June 24, 2014
It’s not unusual to be asked to sign a noncompete clause if you’re working for a company with trade secrets to guard. But imagine being forced to do so in order to get a job as a hair stylist or camp counselor. According to an article in The New York Times by Steven Greenhouse, that’s what is happening. He says everyone from event planners and chefs to investment fund managers and yoga instructors are increasingly being required to sign agreements prohibiting them from working for the company’s...
How Will Tomorrow’s Lawyer Compete With Technology?
June 23, 2014
In the article Machines v. Lawyers, Northwestern Law Professor John McGinnis argues that the advancement of technology and ability...
June 23, 2014
In the article Machines v. Lawyers, Northwestern Law Professor John McGinnis argues that the advancement of technology and ability...
Will the Rise of the Machine Bring Lawyers New Clients?
June 23, 2014
Online kits to do you taxes or make a will are one thing, but robotic doctors and automated architects are another entirely. Tom Meltzer in a story in The Guardian explores how the professions could be at risk in the digital age and what, exactly, that means for lawyers. “Economists and futurists know it’s not all doom and gloom, but it is all change,” said Meltzer. He cites research by Associated Press reporters who analyzed employment data and found that contrary to popular belief, it’s...
June 23, 2014
Online kits to do you taxes or make a will are one thing, but robotic doctors and automated architects are another entirely. Tom Meltzer in a story in The Guardian explores how the professions could be at risk in the digital age and what, exactly, that means for lawyers. “Economists and futurists know it’s not all doom and gloom, but it is all change,” said Meltzer. He cites research by Associated Press reporters who analyzed employment data and found that contrary to popular belief, it’s...
