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What to Do When Negotiation Turns to Squabbling
November 5, 2013
Negotiators—whether politicians or homebuyers—begin with bold concessions which rapidly shrink the gulf between opposing sides. But like curves approaching an asymptote in geometry, as they near an agreement they level off and struggle to bridge the final, though trivial, gap. The effect of their ongoing quarreling is that, by the end, their motivating goal is not so much to strike a deal or make a sale as to make the other side yield, on no matter how minor a point. The fact of winning a concession...
November 5, 2013
Negotiators—whether politicians or homebuyers—begin with bold concessions which rapidly shrink the gulf between opposing sides. But like curves approaching an asymptote in geometry, as they near an agreement they level off and struggle to bridge the final, though trivial, gap. The effect of their ongoing quarreling is that, by the end, their motivating goal is not so much to strike a deal or make a sale as to make the other side yield, on no matter how minor a point. The fact of winning a concession...
Employment Update: What You Need to Know About Telecommuting and Unpaid Interns
November 4, 2013
This year has seen two important employment-related issues garner significant media attention. In April 2013, Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo”) made headlines when its CEO officially discontinued the company’s telecommuting policy and required all employees to report for work in their respective offices. Other companies, including Best Buy, followed. Several months later, Fox Searchlight Pictures found itself in an unwelcome spotlight after being found to have violated federal and state labor laws...
November 4, 2013
This year has seen two important employment-related issues garner significant media attention. In April 2013, Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo”) made headlines when its CEO officially discontinued the company’s telecommuting policy and required all employees to report for work in their respective offices. Other companies, including Best Buy, followed. Several months later, Fox Searchlight Pictures found itself in an unwelcome spotlight after being found to have violated federal and state labor laws...
Lying and Mediation
November 4, 2013
Its interesting to me that when you Google “lying” and “mediation” you are redirected to “lying” (as in lying down) and “meditation”. Recently my attention was drawn back to the old issue of deception in mediation. It’s an issue that mediators, lawyers and parties engaged in mediation or negotiation do well to reflect on from time to time. Some time ago I conducted an employment-related mediation. The case did not settle on the day of the mediation and, as is usually my practice,...
November 4, 2013
Its interesting to me that when you Google “lying” and “mediation” you are redirected to “lying” (as in lying down) and “meditation”. Recently my attention was drawn back to the old issue of deception in mediation. It’s an issue that mediators, lawyers and parties engaged in mediation or negotiation do well to reflect on from time to time. Some time ago I conducted an employment-related mediation. The case did not settle on the day of the mediation and, as is usually my practice,...
Texas’ Fourth Court of Appeals Orders Local Firefighters to Arbitrate Benefits Dispute With City of San Antonio
November 4, 2013
Texas’ Fourth District in San Antonio has held that an arbitration provision included in a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) requires a local firefighter’s union to engage in arbitration over a health insurance benefits dispute. In The City of San Antonio v. International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 624, No. 04-CV-00783-CV (October 2, 2013), the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 624 (the “Union”) filed a lawsuit against the City of San Antonio on behalf...
November 4, 2013
Texas’ Fourth District in San Antonio has held that an arbitration provision included in a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) requires a local firefighter’s union to engage in arbitration over a health insurance benefits dispute. In The City of San Antonio v. International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 624, No. 04-CV-00783-CV (October 2, 2013), the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 624 (the “Union”) filed a lawsuit against the City of San Antonio on behalf...
Patent Wars Erupt Again in Tech Sector
November 4, 2013
The long-running patent war among the technology industry’s heavyweights just grew a whole lot bigger—and more controversial. After a brief hiatus for major new litigation, a joint venture owned by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., BlackBerry Ltd., Ericsson Inc., and Sony Corp. launched a barrage of new lawsuits against a group of defendants that include Google Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc., HTC Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. The suits, brought by the so-called Rockstar...
November 4, 2013
The long-running patent war among the technology industry’s heavyweights just grew a whole lot bigger—and more controversial. After a brief hiatus for major new litigation, a joint venture owned by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., BlackBerry Ltd., Ericsson Inc., and Sony Corp. launched a barrage of new lawsuits against a group of defendants that include Google Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc., HTC Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. The suits, brought by the so-called Rockstar...
Small Business B-2-B Arbitration Part II.B: How Arbitration Agreements Work
November 4, 2013
If you’ve followed this series from inception you already know that the decision to agree to arbitrate disputes arising out of a transaction, and if so, under what terms, can be as important as any other decision a business must make about price and performance terms. Armed with sufficient knowledge about how arbitration and arbitration-law works, business people and their lawyers can make better-informed choices about arbitration, including whether seeking advice from an attorney with arbitration...
November 4, 2013
If you’ve followed this series from inception you already know that the decision to agree to arbitrate disputes arising out of a transaction, and if so, under what terms, can be as important as any other decision a business must make about price and performance terms. Armed with sufficient knowledge about how arbitration and arbitration-law works, business people and their lawyers can make better-informed choices about arbitration, including whether seeking advice from an attorney with arbitration...
“The Pros and Cons of ADR Clauses”
November 4, 2013
Article by that title in this morning’s National Law Journal (here). Of course, with that title, it could have been book-length. ...
November 4, 2013
Article by that title in this morning’s National Law Journal (here). Of course, with that title, it could have been book-length. ...
CourtListener Adds 1.5 Million Opinions, Expands Coverage
November 3, 2013
Back in 2011, I wrote a post about the launch of CourtListener, a free website that lets you create alerts to notify you of new cases that match your search criteria. Today, the site announced that it is adding more than 1.5 million court opinions to its database, expanding its coverage to a total of 350 federal and state jurisdictions. The cases were donated to CourtListener by LawBox, the company behind the LawBox legal research app for iOS devices. Originally created by Michael Lissner...
November 3, 2013
Back in 2011, I wrote a post about the launch of CourtListener, a free website that lets you create alerts to notify you of new cases that match your search criteria. Today, the site announced that it is adding more than 1.5 million court opinions to its database, expanding its coverage to a total of 350 federal and state jurisdictions. The cases were donated to CourtListener by LawBox, the company behind the LawBox legal research app for iOS devices. Originally created by Michael Lissner...
Farewell iPhone, Hello Android
November 3, 2013
Six years isn't even a blink in geologic terms, yet it's close to an eternity in the life of a smartphone. Many lawyers who acquired their first smartphone when Apple virtually monopolized the market are now thinking about moving on to something different, something somewhat less iPhone-like. There are many reasons an attorney may want to think about switching from an iPhone to one of the many available Android alternatives. Some iPhone users feel suffocated within Apple's hermetically-sealed...
November 3, 2013
Six years isn't even a blink in geologic terms, yet it's close to an eternity in the life of a smartphone. Many lawyers who acquired their first smartphone when Apple virtually monopolized the market are now thinking about moving on to something different, something somewhat less iPhone-like. There are many reasons an attorney may want to think about switching from an iPhone to one of the many available Android alternatives. Some iPhone users feel suffocated within Apple's hermetically-sealed...
Law Firm Sued Over Claimed Use of Competitor’s Name as Google AdWords
November 3, 2013
A Florida law firm has sued a competing personal injury shop over its alleged use of the plaintiff firm's name as Google Adwords to drive search-engine traffic. Filed in Miami, the federal lawsuit brought by high-profile plaintiffs firm Steinger, Iscoe & Greene against attorney Paul K. Schrier asserts claims for unfair competition, trademark infringement and violation of the Anti-Cybersquating Consumer Protection Act, the Daily Business Review reports.
November 3, 2013
A Florida law firm has sued a competing personal injury shop over its alleged use of the plaintiff firm's name as Google Adwords to drive search-engine traffic. Filed in Miami, the federal lawsuit brought by high-profile plaintiffs firm Steinger, Iscoe & Greene against attorney Paul K. Schrier asserts claims for unfair competition, trademark infringement and violation of the Anti-Cybersquating Consumer Protection Act, the Daily Business Review reports.
