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How I Beat Stage Fright
February 23, 2014
Humanity's fine-tuned sense of fear served us well as a young species, giving us laser focus to avoid being eaten by competing beasts. But it's less wonderful when that same visceral, body-hijacking sense of fear kicks in in front of 20 folk-music fans at a Tuesday night open-mic. Palms sweat, hands shake, vision blurs, and the brain says RUN: it's stage fright. In this charming, tuneful little talk, Joe Kowan talks about how he conquered it. By day he's a graphic designer, and by night Joe Kowan...
February 23, 2014
Humanity's fine-tuned sense of fear served us well as a young species, giving us laser focus to avoid being eaten by competing beasts. But it's less wonderful when that same visceral, body-hijacking sense of fear kicks in in front of 20 folk-music fans at a Tuesday night open-mic. Palms sweat, hands shake, vision blurs, and the brain says RUN: it's stage fright. In this charming, tuneful little talk, Joe Kowan talks about how he conquered it. By day he's a graphic designer, and by night Joe Kowan...
Can Watching a Movie Improve Your Relationship? Motivate You to Write a Will? Resolve Your Conflict?
February 23, 2014
Here's the news release from University of Rochester. (Click to see the list of movies and discussion questions used in the study, and to read the study itself.) Divorce Rate Cut in Half for Couples Who Discussed Relationship Movies January 31, 2014 Contact: Susan Hagen susan.hagen@rochester.edu 585.276.4061 A new study finds that watching and discussing movies about relationships is as effective in lowering divorce rates as other, more intensive early marriage counseling programs. Discussing...
February 23, 2014
Here's the news release from University of Rochester. (Click to see the list of movies and discussion questions used in the study, and to read the study itself.) Divorce Rate Cut in Half for Couples Who Discussed Relationship Movies January 31, 2014 Contact: Susan Hagen susan.hagen@rochester.edu 585.276.4061 A new study finds that watching and discussing movies about relationships is as effective in lowering divorce rates as other, more intensive early marriage counseling programs. Discussing...
New Mediation Law in UK Geared to Divorcing Couples
February 23, 2014
Despite the efforts of a group of 6,500 mediators and millions of pounds spent by the government on advertising and diversion efforts, divorce mediation languished in Great Britain. The London Times reported that “only half of 4,000 adults surveyed would even consider an out-of-court solution to resolving their disputes.” [emphasis added] A new law will require that divorcing couples with disputes about children or property will be required to attend a “mediation information and assessment...
February 23, 2014
Despite the efforts of a group of 6,500 mediators and millions of pounds spent by the government on advertising and diversion efforts, divorce mediation languished in Great Britain. The London Times reported that “only half of 4,000 adults surveyed would even consider an out-of-court solution to resolving their disputes.” [emphasis added] A new law will require that divorcing couples with disputes about children or property will be required to attend a “mediation information and assessment...
The 2014 U.S. News Job Rankings: Being A Lawyer Is Worse Than Being A Nail Technician
February 22, 2014
Each year, U.S. News and World Report comes out with a ranking of the 100 best jobs in the nation, based on important factors like the number of expected openings, advancement opportunities, career fulfillment, and salary expectations. With criteria like that, it makes sense that each year, the job of “Lawyer” sinks lower and lower in the rankings. * * * But don’t you worry, U.S. News claims that “[t]he job market for lawyers has improved in recent years,” and “an additional 74,800...
February 22, 2014
Each year, U.S. News and World Report comes out with a ranking of the 100 best jobs in the nation, based on important factors like the number of expected openings, advancement opportunities, career fulfillment, and salary expectations. With criteria like that, it makes sense that each year, the job of “Lawyer” sinks lower and lower in the rankings. * * * But don’t you worry, U.S. News claims that “[t]he job market for lawyers has improved in recent years,” and “an additional 74,800...
Lawyer up online: Startups Aim to Make the Law Less Confusing, Expensive
February 22, 2014
When Jim Angelopoulos opened his first restaurant 10 years ago, he hired a lawyer to help him incorporate. When he later decided to trademark the name with an eye toward expansion, he used a different route: A website called LegalForce. "The cost itself is night and day," said Angelopoulos, who owns Scrambl'z Diner in south San Jose. Angelopoulos said LegalForce helped him register his trademark nationally and block another restaurant from using a similar moniker. "I thought registering a name...
February 22, 2014
When Jim Angelopoulos opened his first restaurant 10 years ago, he hired a lawyer to help him incorporate. When he later decided to trademark the name with an eye toward expansion, he used a different route: A website called LegalForce. "The cost itself is night and day," said Angelopoulos, who owns Scrambl'z Diner in south San Jose. Angelopoulos said LegalForce helped him register his trademark nationally and block another restaurant from using a similar moniker. "I thought registering a name...
Electrical Brain Stimulation Can Instantly Improve Self-Control
February 22, 2014
Neuroscientists have successfully used a new type of brain stimulation to act on a mental braking system located in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain above the eyes. The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, gave participants a simple test of self-control (Wessel et al., 2013). * * * One of the study’s authors, Nitin Tandon, M.D., explained: “There is a circuit in the brain for inhibiting or braking responses. We believe we are the first to show that we can enhance...
February 22, 2014
Neuroscientists have successfully used a new type of brain stimulation to act on a mental braking system located in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain above the eyes. The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, gave participants a simple test of self-control (Wessel et al., 2013). * * * One of the study’s authors, Nitin Tandon, M.D., explained: “There is a circuit in the brain for inhibiting or braking responses. We believe we are the first to show that we can enhance...
#WhyCounselNeedToFollowTwitter
February 22, 2014
Managing media relations is important—and not something that lawyers are always good at. Often you have to balance the legal risk of a statement against the business risk of not making one to the brand. You have to understand your client and their business—a $10 million fine may hurt much less than a three-month drop in sales or loss of certain clients. Effective compliance professionals understand the benefits and dangers of both social media and traditional media. Social media can serve as an outlet...
February 22, 2014
Managing media relations is important—and not something that lawyers are always good at. Often you have to balance the legal risk of a statement against the business risk of not making one to the brand. You have to understand your client and their business—a $10 million fine may hurt much less than a three-month drop in sales or loss of certain clients. Effective compliance professionals understand the benefits and dangers of both social media and traditional media. Social media can serve as an outlet...
Patent Reform Needs Fee Shifting Provisions, Because Judges Almost Never Award Attorneys’ Fees
February 22, 2014
One of the key parts of the attempts to reform the patent system is the fee shifting provision, which would make it so patent...
February 22, 2014
One of the key parts of the attempts to reform the patent system is the fee shifting provision, which would make it so patent...
MIT: Moneyball and Faculty Rankings
February 21, 2014
How are scholars ranked for promotion, tenure and honors? How can we improve the quantitative tools available for decision makers when making such decisions? Can we predict the academic impact of scholars and papers at early stages using quantitative tools? Current academic decisions (hiring, tenure, prizes) are mostly very subjective. In the era of “Big Data,” a solid quantitative set of measurements should be used to support this decision process. This paper presents a method for predicting...
February 21, 2014
How are scholars ranked for promotion, tenure and honors? How can we improve the quantitative tools available for decision makers when making such decisions? Can we predict the academic impact of scholars and papers at early stages using quantitative tools? Current academic decisions (hiring, tenure, prizes) are mostly very subjective. In the era of “Big Data,” a solid quantitative set of measurements should be used to support this decision process. This paper presents a method for predicting...
Seyfarth and Littler Publish EEOC Litigation Reports and Analysis
February 21, 2014
Littler's Annual Report on EEOC Developments - Fiscal Year 2013 and Seyfarth's EEOC-Initiated Litigation: Case Law Developments...
February 21, 2014
Littler's Annual Report on EEOC Developments - Fiscal Year 2013 and Seyfarth's EEOC-Initiated Litigation: Case Law Developments...
