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Fee Foresight: Contingency Cases Important for Large Commercial Firms
November 27, 2013
A big question for large Texas traditional civil law firms used to be whether they wanted to represent clients on a contingency fee basis. Now the question is: How many of those cases do they want to sign up? "When I became managing partner, I began looking at this very issue," said Emily Parker, who took the reins at Dallas' Thompson & Knight in February 2012. While contingency fee contracts long have been the province of solos and plaintiff law firms, defense-oriented Thompson &...
November 27, 2013
A big question for large Texas traditional civil law firms used to be whether they wanted to represent clients on a contingency fee basis. Now the question is: How many of those cases do they want to sign up? "When I became managing partner, I began looking at this very issue," said Emily Parker, who took the reins at Dallas' Thompson & Knight in February 2012. While contingency fee contracts long have been the province of solos and plaintiff law firms, defense-oriented Thompson &...
Arbitration Panel to Reconsider Binding Agreement Between Armstrong and SCA Promotions
November 27, 2013
In an interesting twist, a three-member arbitration panel will reportedly consider an appeal related to a 2005 arbitration agreement between Lance Armstrong and Dallas-based SCA Promotions, Inc. Despite that the dispute between the athlete and the Texas insurer was settled in a binding agreement eight years ago, the arbitrators stated the panel “will exercise jurisdiction to determine and make a final award resolving any disputes between or among Tailwind Sports Corp., Lance Armstrong and SCA Promotions,...
November 27, 2013
In an interesting twist, a three-member arbitration panel will reportedly consider an appeal related to a 2005 arbitration agreement between Lance Armstrong and Dallas-based SCA Promotions, Inc. Despite that the dispute between the athlete and the Texas insurer was settled in a binding agreement eight years ago, the arbitrators stated the panel “will exercise jurisdiction to determine and make a final award resolving any disputes between or among Tailwind Sports Corp., Lance Armstrong and SCA Promotions,...
Ebner on Negotiation via (the New) Email
November 27, 2013
Noam Ebner (Creighton) has posted his new article, Negotiation via (the New) Email, to SSRN. The abstract: While certainly one of the most familiar modes for online communication, email is a constantly shifting entity. This chapter explores common pitfalls encountered in negotiating via email as well as advantages the medium offers, and offers best practices for negotiating through this communication channel. In a significant update to the existing literature, this chapter describes the changes...
November 27, 2013
Noam Ebner (Creighton) has posted his new article, Negotiation via (the New) Email, to SSRN. The abstract: While certainly one of the most familiar modes for online communication, email is a constantly shifting entity. This chapter explores common pitfalls encountered in negotiating via email as well as advantages the medium offers, and offers best practices for negotiating through this communication channel. In a significant update to the existing literature, this chapter describes the changes...
Why Texans Are Poised for the Future of the Legal Biz
November 26, 2013
"Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future" from British lawyer/futurist Richard Susskind is, by turns, inspiring...
November 26, 2013
"Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future" from British lawyer/futurist Richard Susskind is, by turns, inspiring...
Contractarian Economics and Mediation Ethics: The Case for Customizing Neutrality Through Contingent Fee Mediation
November 26, 2013
Imagine the following hypothetical. A divorcing couple is well into litigation over the division of their marital property. Although they and their attorneys have attempted settlement at various moments in the two-year dispute, negotiations have failed to resolve their differences. They are about to go to trial when a mutual friend suggests that they attempt mediation. Both parties are skeptical about another attempt at settlement; each has heard unfavorable things about mediation. But each...
November 26, 2013
Imagine the following hypothetical. A divorcing couple is well into litigation over the division of their marital property. Although they and their attorneys have attempted settlement at various moments in the two-year dispute, negotiations have failed to resolve their differences. They are about to go to trial when a mutual friend suggests that they attempt mediation. Both parties are skeptical about another attempt at settlement; each has heard unfavorable things about mediation. But each...
Mediation, Arbitration and Negotiation
November 26, 2013
We compare three common dispute resolution processes - negotiation, mediation, and arbitration - in the framework of Crawford and Sobel (1982). Under negotiation, the two parties engage in (possibly arbitrarily long) face-to-face cheap talk. Under mediation, the parties communicate with a neutral third party who makes a non-binding recommendation. Under arbitration, the two parties commit to conform to the third party recommendation. We characterize and compare the optimal mediation and arbitration...
November 26, 2013
We compare three common dispute resolution processes - negotiation, mediation, and arbitration - in the framework of Crawford and Sobel (1982). Under negotiation, the two parties engage in (possibly arbitrarily long) face-to-face cheap talk. Under mediation, the parties communicate with a neutral third party who makes a non-binding recommendation. Under arbitration, the two parties commit to conform to the third party recommendation. We characterize and compare the optimal mediation and arbitration...
Med-Arb and the Legalization of Alternative Dispute Resolution
November 26, 2013
Brian Pappas, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Director of Alternative Dispute Resolutionat Michigan State University College of Law, has authored Med-Arb and the Legalization of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Volume 20, Harvard Negotiation Law Review, Spring 2015. In his paper, Professor Pappas discusses the potential effects of incorporating Med-Arb in the dispute resolution process. Here is the abstract: Use of Med-Arb, a dispute resolution process incorporating both...
November 26, 2013
Brian Pappas, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Director of Alternative Dispute Resolutionat Michigan State University College of Law, has authored Med-Arb and the Legalization of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Volume 20, Harvard Negotiation Law Review, Spring 2015. In his paper, Professor Pappas discusses the potential effects of incorporating Med-Arb in the dispute resolution process. Here is the abstract: Use of Med-Arb, a dispute resolution process incorporating both...
Economic Rationales for Mediation
November 26, 2013
Much of the economic literature on Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") displays a surprising failure to differentiate between types of dispute resolution devices. Often when economists purport to examine the efficiency of ADR, they focus exclusively on arbitration or other forms of private adjudication. Mediation – negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party – has received far less attention than arbitration in the economic literature. The neglect of mediation is particularly surprising...
November 26, 2013
Much of the economic literature on Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") displays a surprising failure to differentiate between types of dispute resolution devices. Often when economists purport to examine the efficiency of ADR, they focus exclusively on arbitration or other forms of private adjudication. Mediation – negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party – has received far less attention than arbitration in the economic literature. The neglect of mediation is particularly surprising...
Canada Joins the Global Arbitration Club
November 25, 2013
Canada has joined the ranks of 150 other countries that use a global court for international arbitration, which the government...
November 25, 2013
Canada has joined the ranks of 150 other countries that use a global court for international arbitration, which the government...
Auto Correct: Has the self-driving car at last arrived?
November 25, 2013
Human beings make terrible drivers. They talk on the phone and run red lights, signal to the left and turn to the right. They drink too much beer and plow into trees or veer into traffic as they swat at their kids. They have blind spots, leg cramps, seizures, and heart attacks. They rubberneck, hotdog, and take pity on turtles, cause fender benders, pileups, and head-on collisions. They nod off at the wheel, wrestle with maps, fiddle with knobs, have marital spats, take the curve too late, take the curve...
November 25, 2013
Human beings make terrible drivers. They talk on the phone and run red lights, signal to the left and turn to the right. They drink too much beer and plow into trees or veer into traffic as they swat at their kids. They have blind spots, leg cramps, seizures, and heart attacks. They rubberneck, hotdog, and take pity on turtles, cause fender benders, pileups, and head-on collisions. They nod off at the wheel, wrestle with maps, fiddle with knobs, have marital spats, take the curve too late, take the curve...
