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How Adjusters Can Successfully Mediate Claims
June 3, 2014
Sometimes an alternate method is needed for both sides to consider the time, costs and frustration that can accompany a lingering claim. Mediation is one alternative to taking a case all the way through trial. Lee Jay Berman, a mediator at PMA Dispute Resolution, offered tips on handling mediations during an interview at this year’s Combined Claims Conference held in Orange County, Calif. Besides knowing the facts of the claim and the timeline, he noted the importance of pacing the negotiations...
June 3, 2014
Sometimes an alternate method is needed for both sides to consider the time, costs and frustration that can accompany a lingering claim. Mediation is one alternative to taking a case all the way through trial. Lee Jay Berman, a mediator at PMA Dispute Resolution, offered tips on handling mediations during an interview at this year’s Combined Claims Conference held in Orange County, Calif. Besides knowing the facts of the claim and the timeline, he noted the importance of pacing the negotiations...
Third Circuit Rejects Delaware Court of Chancery’s Confidential Arbitration Program
June 3, 2014
In a case that has attracted the attention of legal experts from across the country, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court of Delaware’s decision that found the confidentiality provisions of the Delaware Court of Chancery’s arbitration program unconstitutional. Applying the well-known experience and logic test, the 2–1 majority concluded that the tradition and importance of public access to proceedings like Delaware’s government-sponsored arbitration...
June 3, 2014
In a case that has attracted the attention of legal experts from across the country, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court of Delaware’s decision that found the confidentiality provisions of the Delaware Court of Chancery’s arbitration program unconstitutional. Applying the well-known experience and logic test, the 2–1 majority concluded that the tradition and importance of public access to proceedings like Delaware’s government-sponsored arbitration...
Lessons Learned: Reports from Mock Arbitrations
June 3, 2014
Most of our work involves mock juror pretrial research and we have a report structure that feels very comfortable to us, easy to read, and easily searched by counsel. It took a few efforts with mock arbitrations to get to the same place though and here is some of what we’ve learned. Arbitrators are really smart people! Selecting the right mock arbitrators is not simple, and like other litigation research, the quality of the recruit is essential to a worthwhile effort. They need to have experience...
June 3, 2014
Most of our work involves mock juror pretrial research and we have a report structure that feels very comfortable to us, easy to read, and easily searched by counsel. It took a few efforts with mock arbitrations to get to the same place though and here is some of what we’ve learned. Arbitrators are really smart people! Selecting the right mock arbitrators is not simple, and like other litigation research, the quality of the recruit is essential to a worthwhile effort. They need to have experience...
Symposium Issue on Cognitive Bias and Writing Strategies
June 2, 2014
Legal writing professors will find several articles of interest in a recent symposium issue of the Journal of Law and Policy....
June 2, 2014
Legal writing professors will find several articles of interest in a recent symposium issue of the Journal of Law and Policy....
IBM’s Watson Can Now Make Logical Arguments
June 2, 2014
IBM’s Watson, fresh off victories on Jeopardy!, and successfully diagnosing diseases, is now training for a skill that hits rather close to home–being able to debate and form legal arguments: And now Big Blue has taken Watson technology one step further with a system that can form logical arguments for or against a complex issue–rather than just answering questions–once it absorbs relevant information. At the Milken Institute’s annual conference in Beverly Hills, John Kelly III, IBM’s...
June 2, 2014
IBM’s Watson, fresh off victories on Jeopardy!, and successfully diagnosing diseases, is now training for a skill that hits rather close to home–being able to debate and form legal arguments: And now Big Blue has taken Watson technology one step further with a system that can form logical arguments for or against a complex issue–rather than just answering questions–once it absorbs relevant information. At the Milken Institute’s annual conference in Beverly Hills, John Kelly III, IBM’s...
Is Law in the Future for “Elite” College Students?
June 2, 2014
Last year, Yale’s Undergraduate Career Services Office surveyed seniors about their plans after graduation. Here are the fields in which they expected to work: Law 3.9% Public Policy/Politics 4.1% Fine or Performing Arts 4.3% Health Care 4.4% Media/Journalism 4.6% Computers/Technology 6.8% Research 10.8% Consulting 11.6% Education 12.5% Financial Services 14.8% A far cry from my Yale undergraduate days. Then, I suspect that law would have been near the top of the list. (Statistics...
June 2, 2014
Last year, Yale’s Undergraduate Career Services Office surveyed seniors about their plans after graduation. Here are the fields in which they expected to work: Law 3.9% Public Policy/Politics 4.1% Fine or Performing Arts 4.3% Health Care 4.4% Media/Journalism 4.6% Computers/Technology 6.8% Research 10.8% Consulting 11.6% Education 12.5% Financial Services 14.8% A far cry from my Yale undergraduate days. Then, I suspect that law would have been near the top of the list. (Statistics...
Federal Cases Addressing Arbitrability Continue to Change the Landscape
June 2, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision last June in American Express v. Italian Colors, ___ U.S. __, 133 S. Ct. 2304, 186 L. Ed. 2d 417 (2013), like its earlier decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. ___, 131 S. Ct. 1740, 179 L. Ed. 2d 742 (2011), solidified the broad deference given to arbitration agreements by the Supreme Court and reinforced the principle that state laws and policies invalidating arbitration agreements and class-action waivers are preempted by the Federal...
June 2, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision last June in American Express v. Italian Colors, ___ U.S. __, 133 S. Ct. 2304, 186 L. Ed. 2d 417 (2013), like its earlier decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. ___, 131 S. Ct. 1740, 179 L. Ed. 2d 742 (2011), solidified the broad deference given to arbitration agreements by the Supreme Court and reinforced the principle that state laws and policies invalidating arbitration agreements and class-action waivers are preempted by the Federal...
Class Action Employment Settlement
June 2, 2014
There is an interesting article from Reuters and Yahoo News that discusses a $324.5 million proposal to settle an antitrust...
June 2, 2014
There is an interesting article from Reuters and Yahoo News that discusses a $324.5 million proposal to settle an antitrust...
TechnoLawyer Survey Reveals 68% of Lawyers Use iPhone, 63% Use iPad
June 1, 2014
I'm always interested in data that reveals the number of lawyers using iPhones and iPads, and there is new, interesting data from TechnoLawyer. TechnoLawyer was created by New York attorney Neil Squillante, and the company publishes a number of free newsletters distributed by email to lawyers and other legal professionals such as LitigationWorld, BigLaw,SmallLaw, BlawgWorld and Fat Friday. I've written lots of articles for various TechnoLawyer publications over the years, and if you don't...
June 1, 2014
I'm always interested in data that reveals the number of lawyers using iPhones and iPads, and there is new, interesting data from TechnoLawyer. TechnoLawyer was created by New York attorney Neil Squillante, and the company publishes a number of free newsletters distributed by email to lawyers and other legal professionals such as LitigationWorld, BigLaw,SmallLaw, BlawgWorld and Fat Friday. I've written lots of articles for various TechnoLawyer publications over the years, and if you don't...
New Blackphone Could Help Lawyers Safeguard Client Information
June 1, 2014
While covering this year's ABA Techshow, I reported on a session that focused on tools and services available to lawyers concerned about maintaining client confidentiality in the face of increased governmental surveillance, particularly from the National Security Agency. One of the most interesting things that I learned (and there were many) was that there's a phone coming out that promises to be "NSA-resistant." In June, SGP Technologies, a joint venture of Silent Circle and Geeksphone,...
June 1, 2014
While covering this year's ABA Techshow, I reported on a session that focused on tools and services available to lawyers concerned about maintaining client confidentiality in the face of increased governmental surveillance, particularly from the National Security Agency. One of the most interesting things that I learned (and there were many) was that there's a phone coming out that promises to be "NSA-resistant." In June, SGP Technologies, a joint venture of Silent Circle and Geeksphone,...
