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So, You Want to Go In-House?
October 8, 2013
Many law firm lawyers yearn to move in-house with a corporate law department, noting such benefits as abandoning the hassles of timesheets and eliminating the pressure to develop business. However, to successfully make this move, you must understand how the ideal in-house candidate profile differs from that for most law firms, and how best to present yourself as such a candidate in an interview. THE IDEAL CANDIDATE While lawyers at a firm typically specialize in a specific practice area, most in-house...
October 8, 2013
Many law firm lawyers yearn to move in-house with a corporate law department, noting such benefits as abandoning the hassles of timesheets and eliminating the pressure to develop business. However, to successfully make this move, you must understand how the ideal in-house candidate profile differs from that for most law firms, and how best to present yourself as such a candidate in an interview. THE IDEAL CANDIDATE While lawyers at a firm typically specialize in a specific practice area, most in-house...
New Book: Erica Ariel Fox, Winning From Within
October 8, 2013
I just received word that Erica Ariel Fox‘s new book, “Winning from Within” is now out. (It’s possible that it’s been out for a while, and I somehow missed it.) I’ve ordered a copy, but have not yet read it, so this is a book pre-review. As many of you know, Erica worked for years at the Program on Negotiation, in various capacities, and through the Harvard Negotiation Project and the Harvard Negotiation Insight Project. A colleague of many of us in the field, Erica has been...
October 8, 2013
I just received word that Erica Ariel Fox‘s new book, “Winning from Within” is now out. (It’s possible that it’s been out for a while, and I somehow missed it.) I’ve ordered a copy, but have not yet read it, so this is a book pre-review. As many of you know, Erica worked for years at the Program on Negotiation, in various capacities, and through the Harvard Negotiation Project and the Harvard Negotiation Insight Project. A colleague of many of us in the field, Erica has been...
Disqualifying Post-Med-Arb-Med Conduct by Neutral Does Not Unwind Signed Settlement Agreement
October 8, 2013
The monitoring and regulation of mediators and arbitrators is a haphazard business in the United States. It is often said that “mediation is not the practice of law”—despite how often mediators are asked to help parties navigate contentious and confusing legal issues—so many states, such as Colorado, do not regulate the conduct of neutrals, even for court-annexed mediation. This is a convenient determination for the neutrals as it avoids the credentialing and regulatory schemes routinely...
October 8, 2013
The monitoring and regulation of mediators and arbitrators is a haphazard business in the United States. It is often said that “mediation is not the practice of law”—despite how often mediators are asked to help parties navigate contentious and confusing legal issues—so many states, such as Colorado, do not regulate the conduct of neutrals, even for court-annexed mediation. This is a convenient determination for the neutrals as it avoids the credentialing and regulatory schemes routinely...
Research Trends and Conclusions: Commercial Mediation 2013
October 8, 2013
Trends and Changes in Mediation In the last few years, mediations have become harder to solve due to their complexities, economic pressure and the growing sophistication of lawyers. Disputes increasingly involve very technical issues, multiple parties or have a cross-border element. This means that they often take longer to complete and, indeed, many of our respondents report that the general expectation that a mediation takes one or two days has disappeared, to be replaced with the more realistic...
October 8, 2013
Trends and Changes in Mediation In the last few years, mediations have become harder to solve due to their complexities, economic pressure and the growing sophistication of lawyers. Disputes increasingly involve very technical issues, multiple parties or have a cross-border element. This means that they often take longer to complete and, indeed, many of our respondents report that the general expectation that a mediation takes one or two days has disappeared, to be replaced with the more realistic...
Two Circuit Courts Demonstrate How Difficult It Is To Vacate Arbitration Awards
October 8, 2013
In recent weeks, both the Second and Sixth Circuits showed how difficult it is to vacate arbitration awards. The Second Circuit decision has more drama, so I’ll start there. In Kolel Beth Yechiel Mechil of Tartik-Ov, Inc. v. YLL Irrevocable Trust, __ F.3d __, 2013 WL 4609100 (2d Cir. Aug. 30, 2013), the losing party in an arbitration tried to vacate the award using both Section 10(a)(1) and 10(a)(2) of the Federal Arbitration Act — i.e., corruption and evident partiality. The dispute...
October 8, 2013
In recent weeks, both the Second and Sixth Circuits showed how difficult it is to vacate arbitration awards. The Second Circuit decision has more drama, so I’ll start there. In Kolel Beth Yechiel Mechil of Tartik-Ov, Inc. v. YLL Irrevocable Trust, __ F.3d __, 2013 WL 4609100 (2d Cir. Aug. 30, 2013), the losing party in an arbitration tried to vacate the award using both Section 10(a)(1) and 10(a)(2) of the Federal Arbitration Act — i.e., corruption and evident partiality. The dispute...
Wave of Patent Cases Hits the Bay Area
October 7, 2013
The map of patent litigation is shifting, and the Northern District of California is gaining ground. A confluence of legislative reform and new case law has made it easier for companies slapped with patent infringement lawsuits to get out of the sticky Eastern District of Texas. Many of them are taking their cases West. More than a quarter of all patent cases that have been transferred so far in 2013 landed in the Northern District of California, and 36 percent were sent to federal courts statewide,...
October 7, 2013
The map of patent litigation is shifting, and the Northern District of California is gaining ground. A confluence of legislative reform and new case law has made it easier for companies slapped with patent infringement lawsuits to get out of the sticky Eastern District of Texas. Many of them are taking their cases West. More than a quarter of all patent cases that have been transferred so far in 2013 landed in the Northern District of California, and 36 percent were sent to federal courts statewide,...
Mediated Settlement Agreements Trump Inquiries Into Best Interests of Child, Texas Supreme Court Rules
October 7, 2013
In a decision that has significant implications for family law in Texas, a majority of the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Sept....
October 7, 2013
In a decision that has significant implications for family law in Texas, a majority of the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Sept....
Conference Session Recap: Mass Torts Settlement
October 7, 2013
During the Litigation Section’s Annual Conference, a select panel presented “Disaster Averted, Mass Tort Resolved—Settling Mass Tort Disaster Cases.” The panel covered many key mass torts issues, including cy pres. This doctrine, evoked when literal compliance is impossible, derives its name from English law and was originally a borrowing from the Norman-French “cy près comme possible,” as close as possible. Cy Pres Awards in Mass Tort Settlement As the panel noted, the distribution...
October 7, 2013
During the Litigation Section’s Annual Conference, a select panel presented “Disaster Averted, Mass Tort Resolved—Settling Mass Tort Disaster Cases.” The panel covered many key mass torts issues, including cy pres. This doctrine, evoked when literal compliance is impossible, derives its name from English law and was originally a borrowing from the Norman-French “cy près comme possible,” as close as possible. Cy Pres Awards in Mass Tort Settlement As the panel noted, the distribution...
Survey Shows Law Departments on More Stable Footing
October 7, 2013
The latest edition of a key annual law department survey indicates that the fortunes of in-house attorneys are looking a bit brighter again, after departments weathered the difficulties of the financial crisis. The “2013 HBR Law Department Survey,” conducted by HBR Consulting, collected information from 280 companies, domestic and global, to provide a picture of the trends impacting law departments. The survey revealed a 3 percent increase worldwide in companies’ total legal spending in 2012....
October 7, 2013
The latest edition of a key annual law department survey indicates that the fortunes of in-house attorneys are looking a bit brighter again, after departments weathered the difficulties of the financial crisis. The “2013 HBR Law Department Survey,” conducted by HBR Consulting, collected information from 280 companies, domestic and global, to provide a picture of the trends impacting law departments. The survey revealed a 3 percent increase worldwide in companies’ total legal spending in 2012....
Law Firm Counts On Analytics For Profitability
October 7, 2013
Christopher Emerson represents a new breed of law firm hire: the analytics guy. Emerson is director of practice economics at Bryan Cave LLP, a 1,200-attorney, 27-office law firm based in St. Louis, Mo. It's his job to do figure out what a legal matter should cost Bryan Cave to handle, how much it would cost other firms, and where it can be more profitable. Law firms haven't done much analyzing of their practices, though some firms were early leaders in the use of text analytics. Analytics is on the rise...
October 7, 2013
Christopher Emerson represents a new breed of law firm hire: the analytics guy. Emerson is director of practice economics at Bryan Cave LLP, a 1,200-attorney, 27-office law firm based in St. Louis, Mo. It's his job to do figure out what a legal matter should cost Bryan Cave to handle, how much it would cost other firms, and where it can be more profitable. Law firms haven't done much analyzing of their practices, though some firms were early leaders in the use of text analytics. Analytics is on the rise...
