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The Science of Social Connections
December 19, 2013
The part of human nature that I'd like to talk about today is that part of our human nature that is relevant to our interactions...
December 19, 2013
The part of human nature that I'd like to talk about today is that part of our human nature that is relevant to our interactions...
Cognitive Complexity: How Can Reading a Novel Help You Become a Better Mediator?
December 19, 2013
I highly recommend a new article by Dr. Lisa Zunshine. She writes in "Why Fiction Does It Better" (Chronicle of Higher Education): It turns out that informational texts don’t come close to containing the kind of metacognitive complexity so essential to fiction that we don’t even notice it. Consider these two inextricable fea- tures of fiction. It always functions on a higher level of metacognitive complexity than nonfiction, and it can achieve that higher level without explicit use of metacognitive...
December 19, 2013
I highly recommend a new article by Dr. Lisa Zunshine. She writes in "Why Fiction Does It Better" (Chronicle of Higher Education): It turns out that informational texts don’t come close to containing the kind of metacognitive complexity so essential to fiction that we don’t even notice it. Consider these two inextricable fea- tures of fiction. It always functions on a higher level of metacognitive complexity than nonfiction, and it can achieve that higher level without explicit use of metacognitive...
The Federalization of Consumer Arbitration: Possible Solutions
December 19, 2013
Sarah Rudolph Cole, John W. Bricker Professor of Law and Director of the Program on Dispute Resolution at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law has authored The Federalization of Consumer Arbitration: Possible Solutions. In her paper, Professor Cole discusses the United States Supreme Court’s recent arbitration jurisprudence and its effect on state law. Here is the abstract: Over the past fifteen to twenty years, businesses dramatically increased the use of arbitration clauses...
December 19, 2013
Sarah Rudolph Cole, John W. Bricker Professor of Law and Director of the Program on Dispute Resolution at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law has authored The Federalization of Consumer Arbitration: Possible Solutions. In her paper, Professor Cole discusses the United States Supreme Court’s recent arbitration jurisprudence and its effect on state law. Here is the abstract: Over the past fifteen to twenty years, businesses dramatically increased the use of arbitration clauses...
Decline in Female Associates Called a ‘Red Flag’
December 18, 2013
First the good news: The percentage of women and minority partners at law firms continued to inch up during 2013, according to the latest figures from the National Association for Law Placement. Now the bad: The percentage of women associates at law firms fell for the fourth straight year, even as the percentage of minority associates continued to rise. “Since the recession, we have seen the figures for women associates drop each of the four successive years,” NALP executive director James...
December 18, 2013
First the good news: The percentage of women and minority partners at law firms continued to inch up during 2013, according to the latest figures from the National Association for Law Placement. Now the bad: The percentage of women associates at law firms fell for the fourth straight year, even as the percentage of minority associates continued to rise. “Since the recession, we have seen the figures for women associates drop each of the four successive years,” NALP executive director James...
Back to Basics: Global Companies Sign Pledge to Bring Mediation into the Heart of Business Practice
December 18, 2013
Mediation has long been underused as a form of dispute resolution. Now, however, dozens of global companies have signed a pledge to bring it into the heart of business practice. In-House Perspective's Rebecca Lowe talks to lawyers determined to go back to basics. Once upon a time, men arguably wiser and more sensible than those of the present era settled their disputes by sitting down together in a civilised fashion and talking until the problem was solved. No courts, no judges, no longwinded...
December 18, 2013
Mediation has long been underused as a form of dispute resolution. Now, however, dozens of global companies have signed a pledge to bring it into the heart of business practice. In-House Perspective's Rebecca Lowe talks to lawyers determined to go back to basics. Once upon a time, men arguably wiser and more sensible than those of the present era settled their disputes by sitting down together in a civilised fashion and talking until the problem was solved. No courts, no judges, no longwinded...
Does Priming Influence Behavior of Even the “Bad Boys”?
December 18, 2013
Priming is the idea that subtle cues and reminders can powerfully influence behavior. You hear about it in studies where women reminded of their gender perform less well on math problems. You may be skeptical of the power of priming on your own behavior. And certainly on the behavior of the hardened criminal. Alas, you may as well get used to it because even the behavior of those in maximum security prisons is influenced by priming. Researchers asked 182 inmates from a maximum-security prison...
December 18, 2013
Priming is the idea that subtle cues and reminders can powerfully influence behavior. You hear about it in studies where women reminded of their gender perform less well on math problems. You may be skeptical of the power of priming on your own behavior. And certainly on the behavior of the hardened criminal. Alas, you may as well get used to it because even the behavior of those in maximum security prisons is influenced by priming. Researchers asked 182 inmates from a maximum-security prison...
First-Year Law School Enrollment At 1977 Levels
December 18, 2013
First-year enrollment at U.S. law schools plunged to levels not seen since the 1970s, as students steered away from a career that has left many recent graduates loaded with debt and struggling to find work. The American Bar Association said on Tuesday that the number of first-year law students fell 11% this year. So far, 39,675 full-time and part-time students enrolled in law school, nearly 5,000 fewer than in 2012. That’s one student shy of 1977 enrollment levels, when the ABA reported 39,676 ...
December 18, 2013
First-year enrollment at U.S. law schools plunged to levels not seen since the 1970s, as students steered away from a career that has left many recent graduates loaded with debt and struggling to find work. The American Bar Association said on Tuesday that the number of first-year law students fell 11% this year. So far, 39,675 full-time and part-time students enrolled in law school, nearly 5,000 fewer than in 2012. That’s one student shy of 1977 enrollment levels, when the ABA reported 39,676 ...
Concepcion Gives No Easy Out to Lawyers in Client Disputes
December 18, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 blockbuster AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion has helped telecom companies, financial institutions, nursing homes and others force more cases into arbitration. But it may not have the same benefit for lawyers facing suits by their clients, at least within the Ninth Circuit. The appellate court ruled Thursday that the Federal Arbitration Act, as interpreted by Concepcion, does not preempt state unconscionability laws that require attorneys to fully and fairly...
December 18, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 blockbuster AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion has helped telecom companies, financial institutions, nursing homes and others force more cases into arbitration. But it may not have the same benefit for lawyers facing suits by their clients, at least within the Ninth Circuit. The appellate court ruled Thursday that the Federal Arbitration Act, as interpreted by Concepcion, does not preempt state unconscionability laws that require attorneys to fully and fairly...
Boies Schiller Tops Bonus Scale Again As Most Match Market
December 17, 2013
As it does every year, Boies, Schiller & Flexnerhas awarded 2013 associate bonuses significantly sweeter than those doled out by the rest of The Am Law 100, with the firm's high end hitting $300,000. Meanwhile, at least 10 other firms have now fallen in line with the $10,000-to-$60,000 range set, as usual, by Cravath, Swaine & Moore earlier this month. Associates at the 16-year-old Cravath spin-off received extra payments of $85,000 apiece on average this year based on a combination...
December 17, 2013
As it does every year, Boies, Schiller & Flexnerhas awarded 2013 associate bonuses significantly sweeter than those doled out by the rest of The Am Law 100, with the firm's high end hitting $300,000. Meanwhile, at least 10 other firms have now fallen in line with the $10,000-to-$60,000 range set, as usual, by Cravath, Swaine & Moore earlier this month. Associates at the 16-year-old Cravath spin-off received extra payments of $85,000 apiece on average this year based on a combination...
Do You Want To Make Your Juror “Think Fast”?
December 17, 2013
A new research review says thinking fast can improve our mood, and increase risk-taking, confidence and problem-solving. The author discusses the experiences of running, skiing, driving over the speed limit as all having the capacity to excite, elate and energize us. But we do not have to be moving fast in order to improve our moods. All that is required is for our thinking to shift into a rapid pace and our mood improves. It isn’t always clear whether we want relatively ‘happy’ or ‘sad’...
December 17, 2013
A new research review says thinking fast can improve our mood, and increase risk-taking, confidence and problem-solving. The author discusses the experiences of running, skiing, driving over the speed limit as all having the capacity to excite, elate and energize us. But we do not have to be moving fast in order to improve our moods. All that is required is for our thinking to shift into a rapid pace and our mood improves. It isn’t always clear whether we want relatively ‘happy’ or ‘sad’...
