Menu
ADR
Texas Bar Corporate Counsel Section: Online Mediation
June 23, 2014
Business Law Section and Corporate Counsel Section Thursday, June 26, 2014 Austin Convention Center, Room 19AB 8:50...
June 23, 2014
Business Law Section and Corporate Counsel Section Thursday, June 26, 2014 Austin Convention Center, Room 19AB 8:50...
Texas Bar ADR Section Presents: Settlement Counsel: Why, How, and When? on Thursday
June 22, 2014
Settlement Counsel: Why, How, and When? 2 hours Thursday, June 26, 2014 Austin Convention Center, Room 18B This panel will explore how special settlement counsel can help resolve cases faster, better, and cheaper from those who have served as—and used—dedicated settlement counsel to settle significant cases. John DeGroote, Dallas John DeGroote Services, LLC Chris Nolland, Dallas Law Offices of Christopher Nolland William T. Reid IV, Austinand New York, NY Reid Collins & Tsai...
June 22, 2014
Settlement Counsel: Why, How, and When? 2 hours Thursday, June 26, 2014 Austin Convention Center, Room 18B This panel will explore how special settlement counsel can help resolve cases faster, better, and cheaper from those who have served as—and used—dedicated settlement counsel to settle significant cases. John DeGroote, Dallas John DeGroote Services, LLC Chris Nolland, Dallas Law Offices of Christopher Nolland William T. Reid IV, Austinand New York, NY Reid Collins & Tsai...
Use of Dispute Review Boards on the Rise for DOT Projects
June 18, 2014
Dispute Review Boards (DRB) are becoming more common with many states’ Departments of Transportation (DOT). A 2013 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) survey found that 18 state DOTs utilize DRBs and further research reveals that at least four other state DOTs use DRBs for their construction projects. Construction attorneys (and their clients) who fail to recognize and appreciate this trend likely will be left on the outside looking in as future DOT large-scale...
June 18, 2014
Dispute Review Boards (DRB) are becoming more common with many states’ Departments of Transportation (DOT). A 2013 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) survey found that 18 state DOTs utilize DRBs and further research reveals that at least four other state DOTs use DRBs for their construction projects. Construction attorneys (and their clients) who fail to recognize and appreciate this trend likely will be left on the outside looking in as future DOT large-scale...
The Standing Neutral—Low-Cost Insurance to Prevent Disputes on Construction Projects
June 9, 2014
Construction is a high-risk business, often volatile, with a high potential for problems and adversarial relationships. Every project involves a multitude of participants—an owner, a design and engineering team, many members of a construction team—all with potentially conflicting interests, working on a critical path, with a shared goal to complete the project on time and under budget. Once the work begins, the project cannot be interrupted or delayed to any extent without serious repercussions....
June 9, 2014
Construction is a high-risk business, often volatile, with a high potential for problems and adversarial relationships. Every project involves a multitude of participants—an owner, a design and engineering team, many members of a construction team—all with potentially conflicting interests, working on a critical path, with a shared goal to complete the project on time and under budget. Once the work begins, the project cannot be interrupted or delayed to any extent without serious repercussions....
Suja Thomas on Declining Jury Trials
May 23, 2014
Suja Thomas (Illinois) has posted to SSRN Blackstone's Curse: The Fall of the Criminal, Civil, and Grand Juries and the Rise...
May 23, 2014
Suja Thomas (Illinois) has posted to SSRN Blackstone's Curse: The Fall of the Criminal, Civil, and Grand Juries and the Rise...
Appellate Court Reverses Decision that Standard Construction Form Requiring Mediation Is Contract of Adhesion
May 20, 2014
A California court of appeals overturned the trial court’s decision that a standardized home purchase contract which required homeowners to give notice and an opportunity to correct any construction defects, and then to mediate prior to filing litigation against the builder, was an unconscionable contract of adhesion and violated California’s 2002 Right to Repair Act. The appellate court found that there was nothing unfairly one-sided about the mediation terms, as required for a contract to be unconscionable. McCaffrey...
May 20, 2014
A California court of appeals overturned the trial court’s decision that a standardized home purchase contract which required homeowners to give notice and an opportunity to correct any construction defects, and then to mediate prior to filing litigation against the builder, was an unconscionable contract of adhesion and violated California’s 2002 Right to Repair Act. The appellate court found that there was nothing unfairly one-sided about the mediation terms, as required for a contract to be unconscionable. McCaffrey...
Rethinking the Arbitration Clause
May 19, 2014
We’ve discussed the ins and outs of arbitration at length previously. I’ve spent the last few years in a number of arbitration proceedings so in no particular order here are my recent thoughts on the process: 1. Speed. From start to finish there is no faster means to an end than arbitration. I always tell folks it is hard to go to trial, everything is stacked against it. In most cases you go once you are the oldest case meaning you are looking at 2 years before a trial. That means lots of starts...
May 19, 2014
We’ve discussed the ins and outs of arbitration at length previously. I’ve spent the last few years in a number of arbitration proceedings so in no particular order here are my recent thoughts on the process: 1. Speed. From start to finish there is no faster means to an end than arbitration. I always tell folks it is hard to go to trial, everything is stacked against it. In most cases you go once you are the oldest case meaning you are looking at 2 years before a trial. That means lots of starts...
ODR Conference in June 2014 at Hastings/Stanford
May 15, 2014
From Ethan Katsh (U Mass): The 2014 International Online Dispute Resolution Conference will be held in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, June 25-27, 2014. ODR 2014 <http://www.odr2014.org> will bring together the technology, law and dispute resolution communities, academic researchers, representatives of financial institutions, ecommerce and social media companies, and social justice advocates using innovative technologies to leverage change. It will be preceded by a “Hack for Justice”...
May 15, 2014
From Ethan Katsh (U Mass): The 2014 International Online Dispute Resolution Conference will be held in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, June 25-27, 2014. ODR 2014 <http://www.odr2014.org> will bring together the technology, law and dispute resolution communities, academic researchers, representatives of financial institutions, ecommerce and social media companies, and social justice advocates using innovative technologies to leverage change. It will be preceded by a “Hack for Justice”...
Judge Orders Uber to Change ADR Clause
May 8, 2014
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen has ordered Uber to change the wording of an arbitration clause in its agreement with drivers—and this time he really means it. In an order issued Thursday, the San Francisco federal judge agreed with plaintiffs lawyers that Uber's use of an arbitration agreement was meant to limit drivers' participation in several pending class actions over tips and expenses. The company must inform new drivers of the class action and how their rights would be affected by agreeing...
May 8, 2014
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen has ordered Uber to change the wording of an arbitration clause in its agreement with drivers—and this time he really means it. In an order issued Thursday, the San Francisco federal judge agreed with plaintiffs lawyers that Uber's use of an arbitration agreement was meant to limit drivers' participation in several pending class actions over tips and expenses. The company must inform new drivers of the class action and how their rights would be affected by agreeing...
Online Dispute Resolution: An Amorphous Concept, Yet An Effective Tool Part V
April 30, 2014
The rise of Online Dispute Resolution has lead to some debate over its effectiveness and the benefits of its use. According to some scholars, computer-mediated communication (CMC), which is inextricably linked with ODR, facilitates the interaction process through the use of computers; however, with e-negotiation, for example, it is also believed that [CMC] can undercut the effectiveness of negotiation and lead to “misunderstandings, sinister attributions, and ultimately, negotiation impasse.”[1] Research...
April 30, 2014
The rise of Online Dispute Resolution has lead to some debate over its effectiveness and the benefits of its use. According to some scholars, computer-mediated communication (CMC), which is inextricably linked with ODR, facilitates the interaction process through the use of computers; however, with e-negotiation, for example, it is also believed that [CMC] can undercut the effectiveness of negotiation and lead to “misunderstandings, sinister attributions, and ultimately, negotiation impasse.”[1] Research...
