Menu
News
Kirkland & Ellis opens Houston Office With Partner From Simpson Thacher
May 6, 2014
Kirkland & Ellis announced Tuesday that it is opening an office in the midst of Houston's hot energy-law market. It will...
May 6, 2014
Kirkland & Ellis announced Tuesday that it is opening an office in the midst of Houston's hot energy-law market. It will...
Judge OKs $280 Million Deal to End JPMorgan Class Action
May 6, 2014
Two years after the Second Circuit revived investor claims against Goldman Sachs in a key case over mortgage-backed securities,...
May 6, 2014
Two years after the Second Circuit revived investor claims against Goldman Sachs in a key case over mortgage-backed securities,...
‘Telling Tales’: Exploring Narratives of Life and Law Within the (Mock) Jury Room
May 6, 2014
Based on a findings of a simulation study in which 160 members of the public observed a mini rape trial re-enactment and were then asked to deliberate in jury groups towards a unanimous verdict, this paper explores the extent to which participants were able, and willing, to understand and apply judicial directions, and the legal tests or criteria contained therein. More specifically, it reflects on whether the additional provision of written directions in the jury room influenced the tone or direction...
May 6, 2014
Based on a findings of a simulation study in which 160 members of the public observed a mini rape trial re-enactment and were then asked to deliberate in jury groups towards a unanimous verdict, this paper explores the extent to which participants were able, and willing, to understand and apply judicial directions, and the legal tests or criteria contained therein. More specifically, it reflects on whether the additional provision of written directions in the jury room influenced the tone or direction...
Deference to Arbitrators Is All The Rage Among Supreme Courts This Winter
May 6, 2014
You may have already heard that SCOTUS affirmed arbitrators’ authority to interpret contractual prerequisites to arbitration last week in BG Group, PLC v. Republic of Argentina. But that is just one of a number of recent decisions from high courts on the deference due arbitrators. In the BG Group case, the D.C. Circuit had vacated an arbitration award, finding the arbitration panel overstepped its authority by hearing the case before certain conditions precedent had been met. (My preview...
May 6, 2014
You may have already heard that SCOTUS affirmed arbitrators’ authority to interpret contractual prerequisites to arbitration last week in BG Group, PLC v. Republic of Argentina. But that is just one of a number of recent decisions from high courts on the deference due arbitrators. In the BG Group case, the D.C. Circuit had vacated an arbitration award, finding the arbitration panel overstepped its authority by hearing the case before certain conditions precedent had been met. (My preview...
Mediation Jokes
May 6, 2014
There is much discussion on whether or not mediation is a profession yet one of the defining marks of a profession is when you can tell jokes about its practitioners. The truth of this observation is the public must know enough about the profession, even if only a caricature or stereotype image, to find the joke humorous. While there are a few mediation jokes around and several cartoons I don’t think we yet have reached that point. Nevertheless, I also think jokes are important to a professions...
May 6, 2014
There is much discussion on whether or not mediation is a profession yet one of the defining marks of a profession is when you can tell jokes about its practitioners. The truth of this observation is the public must know enough about the profession, even if only a caricature or stereotype image, to find the joke humorous. While there are a few mediation jokes around and several cartoons I don’t think we yet have reached that point. Nevertheless, I also think jokes are important to a professions...
Bankruptcy Filings Down 11 Percent for March 2014
May 5, 2014
Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2014, fell 11 percent when compared to bankruptcy filings for the 12-month...
May 5, 2014
Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2014, fell 11 percent when compared to bankruptcy filings for the 12-month...
10 Things Judges Can Do To Help Business Litigation Be More Efficient and Less Expensive
May 5, 2014
For most companies, litigation is the law department’s single biggest line-item expense. For many individuals, litigation is just too expensive to pursue. The expense is ever-increasing as e-discovery becomes more and more costly. There is now an entire industry whose mission is to increase the cost of the discovery process while simultaneously touting their cost-saving attributes. Litigants, even sophisticated companies, often find themselves caught in tangled mess of barbed wire, caught amongst...
May 5, 2014
For most companies, litigation is the law department’s single biggest line-item expense. For many individuals, litigation is just too expensive to pursue. The expense is ever-increasing as e-discovery becomes more and more costly. There is now an entire industry whose mission is to increase the cost of the discovery process while simultaneously touting their cost-saving attributes. Litigants, even sophisticated companies, often find themselves caught in tangled mess of barbed wire, caught amongst...
Texas Lawyer’s Annual Firm Finance Report: Which Firms Were in the Money?
May 5, 2014
Financially, 2013 was a so-so year for many of the 25 highest-grossing firms in Texas. That's largely because a madhouse of deals in late 2012, spurred by tax law changes, siphoned work out of the first months of 2013. The 25 highest-grossing firms in Texas brought in gross revenue totaling $5.0 billion in 2013, down from $5.4 billion in 2012. Gross revenue in 2013 fell at more than half of the firms compared with 2012, although the declines were small in most cases. Despite that, a number...
May 5, 2014
Financially, 2013 was a so-so year for many of the 25 highest-grossing firms in Texas. That's largely because a madhouse of deals in late 2012, spurred by tax law changes, siphoned work out of the first months of 2013. The 25 highest-grossing firms in Texas brought in gross revenue totaling $5.0 billion in 2013, down from $5.4 billion in 2012. Gross revenue in 2013 fell at more than half of the firms compared with 2012, although the declines were small in most cases. Despite that, a number...
Keeping Up With The Jones Case: Establishing Constructive Trusts In ‘Sole Legal Owner’ Scenarios
May 5, 2014
This paper considers the influence of the Supreme Court decision in Jones v Kernott on subsequent cases. It focuses on situations with which Jones was not directly concerned, namely where there is only one legal owner of a home and a non-legal-owning cohabitant seeks to establish that he has an equitable interest in it under a common intention constructive trust. The paper argues that while judges have mostly accepted that Jones is relevant to such sole-owner cases, they have had few opportunities...
May 5, 2014
This paper considers the influence of the Supreme Court decision in Jones v Kernott on subsequent cases. It focuses on situations with which Jones was not directly concerned, namely where there is only one legal owner of a home and a non-legal-owning cohabitant seeks to establish that he has an equitable interest in it under a common intention constructive trust. The paper argues that while judges have mostly accepted that Jones is relevant to such sole-owner cases, they have had few opportunities...
Canadian Law Firm Opens Offices Inside Walmart Stores
May 4, 2014
Two Canadian lawyers who met while pursuing an MBA have opened a business called Legal Axess which offers discounted legal...
May 4, 2014
Two Canadian lawyers who met while pursuing an MBA have opened a business called Legal Axess which offers discounted legal...
