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Citi Report: Firms Saw Modest Growth in 2013
February 6, 2014
There is good news for the Am Law 50 and mixed news for the broader industry in the 2013 results. Though the industry's 2013 profits per equity partner (PPEP) growth of 3.5 percent fell short of 2012's 4.3 percent increase, it’s a solid result, given the challenging demand environment we saw last year. Am Law 1–50 firms outperformed other segments in net income and PPEP growth and improved on their 2012 results. Firms with a large international presence outperformed the more U.S.–centric firms,...
February 6, 2014
There is good news for the Am Law 50 and mixed news for the broader industry in the 2013 results. Though the industry's 2013 profits per equity partner (PPEP) growth of 3.5 percent fell short of 2012's 4.3 percent increase, it’s a solid result, given the challenging demand environment we saw last year. Am Law 1–50 firms outperformed other segments in net income and PPEP growth and improved on their 2012 results. Firms with a large international presence outperformed the more U.S.–centric firms,...
N. D. of Texas Refuses to Grant Nonsignatory Samsung’s Motion to Compel Arbitration in Mobile Phone Litigation
February 6, 2014
Applying California law, the Northern District of Texas stated a nonsignatory to an arbitration agreement “may invoke an arbitration clause to compel a signatory plaintiff to arbitrate its claims when the causes of action against the nonsignatory are intimately founded in and intertwined with the underlying contract obligations.” The court continued, When a nonsignatory seeks to enforce an arbitration clause, the doctrine of equitable estoppel applies in two circumstances: (1) “when the signatory...
February 6, 2014
Applying California law, the Northern District of Texas stated a nonsignatory to an arbitration agreement “may invoke an arbitration clause to compel a signatory plaintiff to arbitrate its claims when the causes of action against the nonsignatory are intimately founded in and intertwined with the underlying contract obligations.” The court continued, When a nonsignatory seeks to enforce an arbitration clause, the doctrine of equitable estoppel applies in two circumstances: (1) “when the signatory...
Overstock.com Becomes Largest U.S. Retailer to Accept Bitcoin
February 5, 2014
If you want some cheap linens or towels, you can’t pay in Club Med beads, but you can pay in Bitcoin. Overstock.com just became the largest U.S. retailer to accept the futuristic currency, according to a post by Jacob Farber on Perkins Coie’s Virtual Currency Report. “Overstock.com struck a deal with Coinbase for the processing of Bitcoin payments last Tuesday and has been working around the clock since to prepare to go live,” he says. But while there is a new Bitcoin story every day,...
February 5, 2014
If you want some cheap linens or towels, you can’t pay in Club Med beads, but you can pay in Bitcoin. Overstock.com just became the largest U.S. retailer to accept the futuristic currency, according to a post by Jacob Farber on Perkins Coie’s Virtual Currency Report. “Overstock.com struck a deal with Coinbase for the processing of Bitcoin payments last Tuesday and has been working around the clock since to prepare to go live,” he says. But while there is a new Bitcoin story every day,...
The Brain “Sees” Objects That You Don’t Perceive
February 5, 2014
Consider The Impact of All of The "Little Things" That Go On During A Mediation I love reading science research and articles on Sundays to try and expand my knowledge. Plus, it gives me new words to look up on my iPhone's Dictionary.com app as there are often words I don't know their meaning included in the research articles. This also allows me the opportunity to connect the research with my conflict resolution practice and reflect on its impact within our field. One great site to visit is the PsyBlog-...
February 5, 2014
Consider The Impact of All of The "Little Things" That Go On During A Mediation I love reading science research and articles on Sundays to try and expand my knowledge. Plus, it gives me new words to look up on my iPhone's Dictionary.com app as there are often words I don't know their meaning included in the research articles. This also allows me the opportunity to connect the research with my conflict resolution practice and reflect on its impact within our field. One great site to visit is the PsyBlog-...
Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Whether Arbitral Agreement in Cotton Dispute is Unconscionable
February 5, 2014
On November 22, the Supreme Court of Texas agreed to hear Venture Cotton Cooperative et al. v. Freeman et al., No. 13-0122. The case is currently on appeal from Texas’ 11th Court of Appeals. The main issue in the dispute is whether an arbitration agreement is unconscionable where the terms of a contract state that one party is allowed to collect attorney’s fees following a breach, but the other is not. Both the trial court and the 11th COA held the provision rendered the agreement substantively...
February 5, 2014
On November 22, the Supreme Court of Texas agreed to hear Venture Cotton Cooperative et al. v. Freeman et al., No. 13-0122. The case is currently on appeal from Texas’ 11th Court of Appeals. The main issue in the dispute is whether an arbitration agreement is unconscionable where the terms of a contract state that one party is allowed to collect attorney’s fees following a breach, but the other is not. Both the trial court and the 11th COA held the provision rendered the agreement substantively...
How to Avoid Impasse in Settlement Negotiations
February 5, 2014
A successful mediation requires preparation and an understanding of the process so as to avoid impasse, the breakdown of the process....
February 5, 2014
A successful mediation requires preparation and an understanding of the process so as to avoid impasse, the breakdown of the process....
Legal Technology Disrupters and Why You Need to Take Note
February 5, 2014
Yes, I am still reading Richard Susskind‘s Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future. Chapter 5: Disruptive Legal Technologies definitely caught my attention: * * * 2. Big Data Yes, it’s a buzz term, but there is something behind it. Just like when Kevin O’Keefe and I sat around a table at the Bonaventure Hotel many years ago trying to figure out what this Twitter thing was all about. There is something “there” here. Very little work has yet been undertaken on the relevance...
February 5, 2014
Yes, I am still reading Richard Susskind‘s Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future. Chapter 5: Disruptive Legal Technologies definitely caught my attention: * * * 2. Big Data Yes, it’s a buzz term, but there is something behind it. Just like when Kevin O’Keefe and I sat around a table at the Bonaventure Hotel many years ago trying to figure out what this Twitter thing was all about. There is something “there” here. Very little work has yet been undertaken on the relevance...
The ‘Genesis’ of a New Era for Class Action Defendants?
February 4, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 133 S.Ct. 1523 (2013) quickly sparked a debate over the ruling’s future impact on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 class actions. In the months following the decision, federal courts have handed down conflicting rulings on the effect of a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 offer of judgment, such as that in Genesis, on a pending, putative class action. Some courts have held that an offer of judgment moots a class representative’s...
February 4, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 133 S.Ct. 1523 (2013) quickly sparked a debate over the ruling’s future impact on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 class actions. In the months following the decision, federal courts have handed down conflicting rulings on the effect of a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 offer of judgment, such as that in Genesis, on a pending, putative class action. Some courts have held that an offer of judgment moots a class representative’s...
A World in Balance – At Least in Terms of the Number of Arbitration Courts
February 4, 2014
In the past few weeks, Russia has abolished its main commercial court and Singapore has announced its plan to open one. The events appear to be unrelated, but it seems likely that the ripples from each may reach the other. On November 28, the Financial Times printed a headline that read “Moscow Abolishes Commercial Court.” The paper reported that the “Federal Council, the upper house of parliament, yesterday changed the constitution to allow the merger of the Supreme Court of Arbitration...
February 4, 2014
In the past few weeks, Russia has abolished its main commercial court and Singapore has announced its plan to open one. The events appear to be unrelated, but it seems likely that the ripples from each may reach the other. On November 28, the Financial Times printed a headline that read “Moscow Abolishes Commercial Court.” The paper reported that the “Federal Council, the upper house of parliament, yesterday changed the constitution to allow the merger of the Supreme Court of Arbitration...
Shestowsky on Litigation Preferences
February 4, 2014
NEW STUDY REVEALS HOW PEOPLE WANT THEIR LAWSUITS RESOLVED As court systems throughout the country struggle to deliver civil justice in the face of budget cuts, a new study by a UC Davis law professor finds that people involved in civil lawsuits prefer mediation to nonbinding arbitration and like judge trials more than jury trials. In her study, “The Psychology of Procedural Preference: How Litigants Evaluate Legal Procedures Ex Ante,” Donna Shestowsky, who teaches negotiation strategy, alternative...
February 4, 2014
NEW STUDY REVEALS HOW PEOPLE WANT THEIR LAWSUITS RESOLVED As court systems throughout the country struggle to deliver civil justice in the face of budget cuts, a new study by a UC Davis law professor finds that people involved in civil lawsuits prefer mediation to nonbinding arbitration and like judge trials more than jury trials. In her study, “The Psychology of Procedural Preference: How Litigants Evaluate Legal Procedures Ex Ante,” Donna Shestowsky, who teaches negotiation strategy, alternative...
