Blog Archives
Why lawyers Will Love iOS 8
June 14, 2014
The iPhone and iPad are amazing tools for lawyers because they are relatively easy to use, but are also incredibly powerful. But as lawyers (and others) start to master the basics of iOS, they often start to want more powerful features. Every year, Apple adds more advanced features to iOS, and now it is hard to imagine that there was a time when we didn't have third party apps, copy and paste, or even Siri. But based on the announcements made by Apple yesterday, when iOS 8 comes out this Fall,...
June 14, 2014
The iPhone and iPad are amazing tools for lawyers because they are relatively easy to use, but are also incredibly powerful. But as lawyers (and others) start to master the basics of iOS, they often start to want more powerful features. Every year, Apple adds more advanced features to iOS, and now it is hard to imagine that there was a time when we didn't have third party apps, copy and paste, or even Siri. But based on the announcements made by Apple yesterday, when iOS 8 comes out this Fall,...
Google Brings Message Encryption (Back) to Google Apps Mail
June 14, 2014
In our past articles about message encryption options for Gmail and Google Apps, we’ve lamented the unavailability of a built-in option for most users. Google mail messages are encrypted internally, so messages sent between Gmail or Google Apps users are secure, but messages sent to non-Google users (e.g., those using Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo Mail) are not encrypted – without the addition of a third-party add-on like those discussed in our earlier post. In 2007, Google acquired the Postini...
June 14, 2014
In our past articles about message encryption options for Gmail and Google Apps, we’ve lamented the unavailability of a built-in option for most users. Google mail messages are encrypted internally, so messages sent between Gmail or Google Apps users are secure, but messages sent to non-Google users (e.g., those using Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo Mail) are not encrypted – without the addition of a third-party add-on like those discussed in our earlier post. In 2007, Google acquired the Postini...
What You’re Missing Without Google Now
June 13, 2014
This is a great day in the life post about how an Android user has become dependent upon his Google Now personal assistant device software. Google Now is like having a very smart person at your side all the time. Just swipe the screen left and everything you need to know is available, often before you know you need to know it. If you haven't tried Android, read this article, and ask yourself if you would like to have that kind of functionality. I use it all day, every day, and it makes solo law practice...
June 13, 2014
This is a great day in the life post about how an Android user has become dependent upon his Google Now personal assistant device software. Google Now is like having a very smart person at your side all the time. Just swipe the screen left and everything you need to know is available, often before you know you need to know it. If you haven't tried Android, read this article, and ask yourself if you would like to have that kind of functionality. I use it all day, every day, and it makes solo law practice...
Two New Books on Changing the Brain Through Learning
June 13, 2014
Does resolving conflict require learning? Typically, yes, of course. If no one in the dispute learns anything new, the conflict will probably remain unresolved. That's one of the reasons learning is often mentioned here at BonP. In May, I attended the 26th annual convention of the Association of Psychological Science; some of the presentations I chose among the multitude offered included learning as a focus. One of my favorite programs, and certainly the most entertaining, was one copresented...
June 13, 2014
Does resolving conflict require learning? Typically, yes, of course. If no one in the dispute learns anything new, the conflict will probably remain unresolved. That's one of the reasons learning is often mentioned here at BonP. In May, I attended the 26th annual convention of the Association of Psychological Science; some of the presentations I chose among the multitude offered included learning as a focus. One of my favorite programs, and certainly the most entertaining, was one copresented...
Bankruptcy Mediation On the Rise
June 13, 2014
According to panelists at the latest American Bankruptcy Institute’s conference in New York, mediation in bankruptcy cases is on the rise. Increasingly, bankruptcy courts are using mediation to help manage their caseloads and to find solutions to the difficult issues that even the most skilled bankruptcy professionals struggle to resolve. At the same time, debtors are turning to mediation to avoid prolonged and expensive litigation. Bankruptcy professionals are slowly changing their attitudes...
June 13, 2014
According to panelists at the latest American Bankruptcy Institute’s conference in New York, mediation in bankruptcy cases is on the rise. Increasingly, bankruptcy courts are using mediation to help manage their caseloads and to find solutions to the difficult issues that even the most skilled bankruptcy professionals struggle to resolve. At the same time, debtors are turning to mediation to avoid prolonged and expensive litigation. Bankruptcy professionals are slowly changing their attitudes...
Wilcox v. Apraio – the 9th Circuit Sidesteps Mediation Confidentiality Questions
June 13, 2014
On Monday, the 9th Circuit handed down its decision in the Wilcox v. Apraio case, a decision that made the newspaper yesterday in Arizona. The case arises out of the Maricopa County wars, when former County Attorney and now gubernatorial candidate Andrew Thomas, with the help of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, indicted several sitting Superior Court judges and several members of the County’s Board of Supervisors, including Mary Rose Wilcox, over funds slated for a new county courthouse. The political drama...
June 13, 2014
On Monday, the 9th Circuit handed down its decision in the Wilcox v. Apraio case, a decision that made the newspaper yesterday in Arizona. The case arises out of the Maricopa County wars, when former County Attorney and now gubernatorial candidate Andrew Thomas, with the help of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, indicted several sitting Superior Court judges and several members of the County’s Board of Supervisors, including Mary Rose Wilcox, over funds slated for a new county courthouse. The political drama...
Business Judgment Rule Now Available for Going-Private Mergers
June 13, 2014
The rule seemed well settled. When a controlling shareholder attempts to take a company private, and the minority shareholders challenge the transaction alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, the court reviews the transaction under the entire fairness standard—under which the controlling shareholder has the initial burden to prove the transaction was fair. The only questions were how and when the burden would shift to the minority shareholders to show it was unfair. Delaware Supreme Court cases...
June 13, 2014
The rule seemed well settled. When a controlling shareholder attempts to take a company private, and the minority shareholders challenge the transaction alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, the court reviews the transaction under the entire fairness standard—under which the controlling shareholder has the initial burden to prove the transaction was fair. The only questions were how and when the burden would shift to the minority shareholders to show it was unfair. Delaware Supreme Court cases...
Supreme Court Accepts Certiorari in CAFA Removal Case
June 12, 2014
On April 7, 2014, the Supreme Court accepted certiorari review in Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens, No. 13-719, to resolve a circuit split regarding whether the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) requires a removing defendant to submit evidence in support of removal at the time of the notice of removal or whether evidence can be submitted later in response to a motion to remand. The United States District Court for the District of Kansas had remanded a putative class action removed under...
June 12, 2014
On April 7, 2014, the Supreme Court accepted certiorari review in Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co., LLC v. Owens, No. 13-719, to resolve a circuit split regarding whether the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) requires a removing defendant to submit evidence in support of removal at the time of the notice of removal or whether evidence can be submitted later in response to a motion to remand. The United States District Court for the District of Kansas had remanded a putative class action removed under...
Burford Capital GC’s In-house View of Litigation Financing
June 12, 2014
In-house counsel should take note of the recent financing of a litigation claim as a way to add value to their company, according to general counsel Melissa Sobel of Burford Capital. Finance provider Burford said Tuesday that it loaned $15 million to the U.K. power company Rurelec in a 2012 arbitration claim against the government of Bolivia, which had seized one of its power plants. By offering to pay Burford a contingency award based on the value of the claim as well as to repay the loan, Rurelec...
June 12, 2014
In-house counsel should take note of the recent financing of a litigation claim as a way to add value to their company, according to general counsel Melissa Sobel of Burford Capital. Finance provider Burford said Tuesday that it loaned $15 million to the U.K. power company Rurelec in a 2012 arbitration claim against the government of Bolivia, which had seized one of its power plants. By offering to pay Burford a contingency award based on the value of the claim as well as to repay the loan, Rurelec...
Construction Adjudication on the Rise Globally for Payment Disputes
June 12, 2014
The methods of resolving construction payment disputes seem as myriad as the disputes themselves. In Ireland, the legislature last July enacted a law introducing a method of dispute resolution new to the Irish construction landscape—adjudication. The motivation behind the Construction Contracts Act 2013 was to create payment protection for those who provide labor and materials for a project (as there is no mechanic’s lien in Ireland). The Act introduces two mechanisms to achieve this: (1) new 30-day...
June 12, 2014
The methods of resolving construction payment disputes seem as myriad as the disputes themselves. In Ireland, the legislature last July enacted a law introducing a method of dispute resolution new to the Irish construction landscape—adjudication. The motivation behind the Construction Contracts Act 2013 was to create payment protection for those who provide labor and materials for a project (as there is no mechanic’s lien in Ireland). The Act introduces two mechanisms to achieve this: (1) new 30-day...
