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California Court Holds that Arbitration “Delegation Clause” Is Not Unconscionable
May 30, 2014
In Tiri v. Lucky Chances, Inc. (5/15/14) --- Cal.App.4th ---, the Court held that an arbitration agreement may delegate...
May 30, 2014
In Tiri v. Lucky Chances, Inc. (5/15/14) --- Cal.App.4th ---, the Court held that an arbitration agreement may delegate...
Architecture Firm Unveils Display of the ‘Law Firm of the Future’
May 30, 2014
There have already been plenty of pop-up stores, especially ones that appear during the holidays. Now witness the pop-up law firm. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that architectural firm Gensler has designed a 5,000 square-foot exhibit that the company has branded as “the law firm of the future.” The exhibit is part of the Association of Legal Administrators annual conference and expo in Toronto, which runs until Thursday. According to the Post, the pop-up office emphasizes efficiency...
May 30, 2014
There have already been plenty of pop-up stores, especially ones that appear during the holidays. Now witness the pop-up law firm. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that architectural firm Gensler has designed a 5,000 square-foot exhibit that the company has branded as “the law firm of the future.” The exhibit is part of the Association of Legal Administrators annual conference and expo in Toronto, which runs until Thursday. According to the Post, the pop-up office emphasizes efficiency...
From Startup Nation to Brain Nation: Israel
May 29, 2014
How Israel is Turning Itself into an International Hub for Innovative Brain Technologies. Israel’s prowess as a high-tech...
May 29, 2014
How Israel is Turning Itself into an International Hub for Innovative Brain Technologies. Israel’s prowess as a high-tech...
Court Holds Arbitration Agreement Unconscionable and Unenforceable
May 29, 2014
In Carmona v. Lincoln Millennium Car Wash, Inc. (5/9/14) --- Cal.App.4th ---, the plaintiffs filed a putative wage and hour class action against their employers. The trial court denied the employers' motion to compel arbitration under a pre-dispute arbitration agreement, and the Court of Appeal affirmed, holding as follows: The arbitration agreement was procedurally unconscionable: (1) it was a contract of adhesion that was presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis; and (2) although the plaintiffs...
May 29, 2014
In Carmona v. Lincoln Millennium Car Wash, Inc. (5/9/14) --- Cal.App.4th ---, the plaintiffs filed a putative wage and hour class action against their employers. The trial court denied the employers' motion to compel arbitration under a pre-dispute arbitration agreement, and the Court of Appeal affirmed, holding as follows: The arbitration agreement was procedurally unconscionable: (1) it was a contract of adhesion that was presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis; and (2) although the plaintiffs...
Meet Chris Nolland: The Master of Bowties and Litigation Settlements
May 29, 2014
Dallas lawyer Chris Nolland is handling some of the biggest-dollar and most high-profile business lawsuits in Texas. Nolland has one client suing the Bass family for $470 million over a failed Las Vegas real estate deal and another seeking to collect a $120 million jury verdict against Mercedes-Benz. He represented Harold Simmons’ daughter in the fight over his $1 billion estate, a granddaughter battling over the estate of Mary Kay Ash, bondholders who sued the Dallas Cowboys for cannibalizing...
May 29, 2014
Dallas lawyer Chris Nolland is handling some of the biggest-dollar and most high-profile business lawsuits in Texas. Nolland has one client suing the Bass family for $470 million over a failed Las Vegas real estate deal and another seeking to collect a $120 million jury verdict against Mercedes-Benz. He represented Harold Simmons’ daughter in the fight over his $1 billion estate, a granddaughter battling over the estate of Mary Kay Ash, bondholders who sued the Dallas Cowboys for cannibalizing...
Forcing the Forum: The Power of Forum Selection Clauses
May 29, 2014
Forum selection clauses—i.e., contractual provisions that designate a particular venue for litigation related to the contract—are ubiquitous and potentially powerful tools found in contracts ranging from divorce settlements to complex derivative instruments. And although forum selection clauses have always been a useful tool for both counsel and management looking to control and contain the cost of potential litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Atlantic Marine Construction...
May 29, 2014
Forum selection clauses—i.e., contractual provisions that designate a particular venue for litigation related to the contract—are ubiquitous and potentially powerful tools found in contracts ranging from divorce settlements to complex derivative instruments. And although forum selection clauses have always been a useful tool for both counsel and management looking to control and contain the cost of potential litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Atlantic Marine Construction...
Law Firms Are Sponsoring Incubators, Cozying Up With Young Entrepreneurs
May 29, 2014
On the 25th floor of the high-rise where Foley & Lardner has its Chicago offices, some of the city's most promising high-tech startup companies have set up shop in a space the firm set aside just for them. The companies include an e-commerce site for fashion, an online learning company, a promotions company and a company that provides evaluations of medical devices—all of which have, and likely will continue to have, a host of legal needs. If someone has a question or needs some legal documents,...
May 29, 2014
On the 25th floor of the high-rise where Foley & Lardner has its Chicago offices, some of the city's most promising high-tech startup companies have set up shop in a space the firm set aside just for them. The companies include an e-commerce site for fashion, an online learning company, a promotions company and a company that provides evaluations of medical devices—all of which have, and likely will continue to have, a host of legal needs. If someone has a question or needs some legal documents,...
Lack of Vision in Law School Strategizing
May 28, 2014
Erwin Chemerinsky (UC-Irvine), Creating a Law School That Emphasizes Public Interest Law, 7 DePaul J. for Soc. Just. 1 (2013) talks about his deanship in the project of founding the law school in Irvine. It really is a shame Irvine, with all that money, just aimed to be a generic top 20 law school instead of experimenting. And more important than money: it began with no vested interests in the form of stodgy and divided faculty to overcome. It's only chance to truly make top 20, as opposed...
May 28, 2014
Erwin Chemerinsky (UC-Irvine), Creating a Law School That Emphasizes Public Interest Law, 7 DePaul J. for Soc. Just. 1 (2013) talks about his deanship in the project of founding the law school in Irvine. It really is a shame Irvine, with all that money, just aimed to be a generic top 20 law school instead of experimenting. And more important than money: it began with no vested interests in the form of stodgy and divided faculty to overcome. It's only chance to truly make top 20, as opposed...
Scalia: Most Law Schools Will Have to Cut Tuition; Cutting Faculty Would ‘Be No Huge Disaster’
May 28, 2014
Justice Antonin Scalia doesn’t agree with proposals to cut law-school education from three to two years, but that doesn’t mean he opposes reform. In a commencement speech to William & Mary law graduates earlier this month, Scalia said tuition will have to be cut at the “vast majority” of law schools. And that means some painful choices will have to be made. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog and Above the Law note Scalia’s speech (PDF), posted online last Thursday. Scalia...
May 28, 2014
Justice Antonin Scalia doesn’t agree with proposals to cut law-school education from three to two years, but that doesn’t mean he opposes reform. In a commencement speech to William & Mary law graduates earlier this month, Scalia said tuition will have to be cut at the “vast majority” of law schools. And that means some painful choices will have to be made. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog and Above the Law note Scalia’s speech (PDF), posted online last Thursday. Scalia...
An Updated Database of State Tort Law Reforms (5th)
May 28, 2014
Ronen Avraham (Texas) recently alerted me to an update of one of the more helpful resources around for those who study torts and tort reform. Specifically, the Database of State Tort Law Reforms (DSTLR 5th) seeks to create "one 'canonized' dataset will increase our understanding of tort reform’s impacts on our lives." A fuller (though excerpted) description follows. "This manuscript of the DSTLR (5th) updates the DSTLR (4th) and contains the most detailed, complete and comprehensive legal...
May 28, 2014
Ronen Avraham (Texas) recently alerted me to an update of one of the more helpful resources around for those who study torts and tort reform. Specifically, the Database of State Tort Law Reforms (DSTLR 5th) seeks to create "one 'canonized' dataset will increase our understanding of tort reform’s impacts on our lives." A fuller (though excerpted) description follows. "This manuscript of the DSTLR (5th) updates the DSTLR (4th) and contains the most detailed, complete and comprehensive legal...
