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Deciding Whether the Best Lawyers Have Excellent “Slow Brains” Takes Something Other than a Slow Brain
March 12, 2013
Bill and I have been having this friendly debate for a number of years now. I believe the insights of Tversky and Kahneman are fully deserving of every accolade they receive, but they don't answer all the questions. Personally, I think describing a lawyer as a having an excellent Kahnemanian "Slow Brain" is like describing a baseball pitcher as having a 102 mph fastball - it's a necessary but not sufficient ingredient of excellence (you need control as well as velocity). As I've argued at length,...
March 12, 2013
Bill and I have been having this friendly debate for a number of years now. I believe the insights of Tversky and Kahneman are fully deserving of every accolade they receive, but they don't answer all the questions. Personally, I think describing a lawyer as a having an excellent Kahnemanian "Slow Brain" is like describing a baseball pitcher as having a 102 mph fastball - it's a necessary but not sufficient ingredient of excellence (you need control as well as velocity). As I've argued at length,...
Grady on Causation and Foreseeability
March 12, 2013
Mark Grady (UCLA) has posted to SSRN Causation and Foreseeability. The abstract provides: This paper critiques the theory...
March 12, 2013
Mark Grady (UCLA) has posted to SSRN Causation and Foreseeability. The abstract provides: This paper critiques the theory...
12on12: Hotels — Bottom Line, It’s All About Wi-Fi
March 12, 2013
When legal professionals get together, you can just about guarantee that the conversation will, at some point, turn to planes,...
March 12, 2013
When legal professionals get together, you can just about guarantee that the conversation will, at some point, turn to planes,...
The Next Frontier Is Inside Your Brain
March 12, 2013
The Obama administration is planning a multiyear research effort to produce an “activity map” that would show in unprecedented...
March 12, 2013
The Obama administration is planning a multiyear research effort to produce an “activity map” that would show in unprecedented...
The Future of Law as Seen From Silicon Valley
March 12, 2013
What does the future of law practice look like? It will be user-friendly and accessible via bright and fresh retail shops...
March 12, 2013
What does the future of law practice look like? It will be user-friendly and accessible via bright and fresh retail shops...
Proper Standard for Invalidating Arbitration Agreements Based on Prohibitive Costs
March 12, 2013
Richard A. Bales & Mark B. Gerano, Determining the Proper Standard for Invalidating Arbitration Agreements Based on High Prohibitive Costs: A Discussion on the Varying Applications of the Case-by-Case Rule, 14 Transactions: Tenn. J. Bus. L. 57 (2012). Arbitration is a common means of resolving commercial disputes. Although arbitration is an attractive alternative to litigation, arbitration can be disadvantageous to a potential plaintiff because of high costs. The United States Supreme Court...
March 12, 2013
Richard A. Bales & Mark B. Gerano, Determining the Proper Standard for Invalidating Arbitration Agreements Based on High Prohibitive Costs: A Discussion on the Varying Applications of the Case-by-Case Rule, 14 Transactions: Tenn. J. Bus. L. 57 (2012). Arbitration is a common means of resolving commercial disputes. Although arbitration is an attractive alternative to litigation, arbitration can be disadvantageous to a potential plaintiff because of high costs. The United States Supreme Court...
Predictive Coding Helps Companies Reduce Discovery Costs
March 11, 2013
Without doubt, Judge Peck ushered in the next generation of e-discovery search and review. In the months since his decision,...
March 11, 2013
Without doubt, Judge Peck ushered in the next generation of e-discovery search and review. In the months since his decision,...
Materiality Not Required to Certify Securities Class Actions
March 11, 2013
In an unsurprising decision, the Court declined to raise the bar for the certification of securities class actions by requiring plaintiffs to establish the materiality of alleged misstatements to invoke the fraud-on-the-market theory in support of class certification. Instead, it remains sufficient for plaintiffs to simply plead materiality, and establish the traditional requirements of Rule 23 at the certification stage. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s decision,...
March 11, 2013
In an unsurprising decision, the Court declined to raise the bar for the certification of securities class actions by requiring plaintiffs to establish the materiality of alleged misstatements to invoke the fraud-on-the-market theory in support of class certification. Instead, it remains sufficient for plaintiffs to simply plead materiality, and establish the traditional requirements of Rule 23 at the certification stage. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s decision,...
AAA Offers Online Clause-Drafting Tool
March 11, 2013
It has long been broadly agreed that the most effective target for education and training in ADR is the lawyers who draft the deals. Drafting a dispute resolution clause as an elegant risk allocation is surely the Holy Grail of commercial deals. Model clauses are promulgated by many ADR organizations, but inept and hoary arbitration and forum selection provisions continue to be cut-and-pasted, to the dismay of litigators and the chagrin of their clients, who realize too late, once the train has hit them,...
March 11, 2013
It has long been broadly agreed that the most effective target for education and training in ADR is the lawyers who draft the deals. Drafting a dispute resolution clause as an elegant risk allocation is surely the Holy Grail of commercial deals. Model clauses are promulgated by many ADR organizations, but inept and hoary arbitration and forum selection provisions continue to be cut-and-pasted, to the dismay of litigators and the chagrin of their clients, who realize too late, once the train has hit them,...
Former Client Disputes Arbitration Decision Awarding $3M in Attorney Fees
March 11, 2013
On January 29th, a unique case was filed in Dallas County. In Parallel Networks, Inc. v. Jenner & Block, LLP, a former client of the law firm filed a motion to vacate an arbitral award of $3 million in attorney fees. In the case, Jenner & Block represented Parallel Networks on a contingency fee basis in a lawsuit against Oracle. After losing a motion for summary judgment, the law firm reportedly determined that Parallel Networks was unlikely to win a large financial award and withdrew...
March 11, 2013
On January 29th, a unique case was filed in Dallas County. In Parallel Networks, Inc. v. Jenner & Block, LLP, a former client of the law firm filed a motion to vacate an arbitral award of $3 million in attorney fees. In the case, Jenner & Block represented Parallel Networks on a contingency fee basis in a lawsuit against Oracle. After losing a motion for summary judgment, the law firm reportedly determined that Parallel Networks was unlikely to win a large financial award and withdrew...
