News
A Short History of New Zealand
September 30, 2013
The Treaty of Waitangi was a written agreement made in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 New Zealand Māori chiefs. After that, New Zealand became a colony of Britain and Māori became British subjects. Today the Treaty is considered to be New Zealand’s founding document. It was drafted in English and then translated into Māori and it was presented to around 500 Māori at the idyllic seaside town of Waitangi on 5 February 1840. The next day, 6 February, more than 40 chiefs...
September 30, 2013
The Treaty of Waitangi was a written agreement made in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 New Zealand Māori chiefs. After that, New Zealand became a colony of Britain and Māori became British subjects. Today the Treaty is considered to be New Zealand’s founding document. It was drafted in English and then translated into Māori and it was presented to around 500 Māori at the idyllic seaside town of Waitangi on 5 February 1840. The next day, 6 February, more than 40 chiefs...
How Shall We Prove Arbitral Corruption With “Abundant Clarity”?
September 30, 2013
Shall we applaud, or regret, the latest decision from a panel in the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals concerning the quality of proof needed to vacate an international arbitration award for “evident partiality or corruption”? (Kohel Beth Yechiel Mechil of Tartikov, Inc. v. YLL Irrevocable Trust, No. 12-3247-CV (2d Cir. Aug. 30, 2013). Shall we applaud the fact that an arbitral award survived a motion to vacate by the losing side, and see this as another heartening judicial vindication of the arbitral...
September 30, 2013
Shall we applaud, or regret, the latest decision from a panel in the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals concerning the quality of proof needed to vacate an international arbitration award for “evident partiality or corruption”? (Kohel Beth Yechiel Mechil of Tartikov, Inc. v. YLL Irrevocable Trust, No. 12-3247-CV (2d Cir. Aug. 30, 2013). Shall we applaud the fact that an arbitral award survived a motion to vacate by the losing side, and see this as another heartening judicial vindication of the arbitral...
Northern District of Texas Compels Wrongful Death of Employee Case to Arbitration
September 30, 2013
The Northern District of Texas has compelled a lawsuit that was filed following a workplace-related death to arbitration. In Estate of Juan Benitez v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., et al., No. 3:13-CV-0468-D (N.D. Tex. August 14, 2013), the family of a deceased general maintenance worker, Benitez, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sears, Roebuck and Co. (“Sears”). As a condition of the Spanish-speaking man’s employment, Benitez was required to view a presentation and watch a DVD related...
September 30, 2013
The Northern District of Texas has compelled a lawsuit that was filed following a workplace-related death to arbitration. In Estate of Juan Benitez v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., et al., No. 3:13-CV-0468-D (N.D. Tex. August 14, 2013), the family of a deceased general maintenance worker, Benitez, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sears, Roebuck and Co. (“Sears”). As a condition of the Spanish-speaking man’s employment, Benitez was required to view a presentation and watch a DVD related...
Conflict, Tension, Resolution
September 30, 2013
Conflict is a part of daily life. Whether you are mediating, negotiating, working on a matter, or simply having a conversation with a friend, conflict can occur at any moment. There are many people that don’t embrace conflict at all. The problem is that the conflict doesn’t go away. It only festers and gets worse. That’s why it is important that we not only prepare for the conflict, but also learn to use the conflict to make things better. Even on a global scale this process can pave...
September 30, 2013
Conflict is a part of daily life. Whether you are mediating, negotiating, working on a matter, or simply having a conversation with a friend, conflict can occur at any moment. There are many people that don’t embrace conflict at all. The problem is that the conflict doesn’t go away. It only festers and gets worse. That’s why it is important that we not only prepare for the conflict, but also learn to use the conflict to make things better. Even on a global scale this process can pave...
TyMetrix MatterAnalyzer Helps Lawyers Set Billing Rates
September 29, 2013
As lawyers face greater pressure from clients to keep their rates and costs down, any bit of information about what the competition is up to is valuable. A new legal metrics program from TyMetrix hopes to make it easier for law firms and legal departments to determine pricing and performance benchmarks by telling them what others have done in the past. In a Tuesday, Sept. 24 press release TyMetrix unveiled MatterAnalyzer, a web-based tool that helps users make more informed decisions about rates,...
September 29, 2013
As lawyers face greater pressure from clients to keep their rates and costs down, any bit of information about what the competition is up to is valuable. A new legal metrics program from TyMetrix hopes to make it easier for law firms and legal departments to determine pricing and performance benchmarks by telling them what others have done in the past. In a Tuesday, Sept. 24 press release TyMetrix unveiled MatterAnalyzer, a web-based tool that helps users make more informed decisions about rates,...
Swan Song: Robert Ambrogi’s Finale
September 29, 2013
Fifteen years ago, on her first day as editor-in-chief of Law Technology News , Monica Bay had a problem. She took over just as the September issue was about to go to press, and a scheduled column was AWOL, leaving a hole in the magazine that needed to be filled on short order. We knew each other through the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management section, when she was a law student and then an editor at ALM's The Recorder newspaper. She called me and asked if I could write an article,...
September 29, 2013
Fifteen years ago, on her first day as editor-in-chief of Law Technology News , Monica Bay had a problem. She took over just as the September issue was about to go to press, and a scheduled column was AWOL, leaving a hole in the magazine that needed to be filled on short order. We knew each other through the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management section, when she was a law student and then an editor at ALM's The Recorder newspaper. She called me and asked if I could write an article,...
Nate Silver Predicts That You, Too, Can Be A Data Master
September 29, 2013
Everybody has a crush on Nate Silver. The statistician-author-blogger calls elections and awards with titillating accuracy--and from what he's said before, it's mostly gut feeling. Thankfully HBR.org had the guts to ask him why. So let's learn how to have the stomach ourselves. TO GET DATA LITERATE QUICK, FIRST GET DIRTY. Silver's thoughts on getting good with data echo back to earlier findings on unstoppability: It's about getting as experienced, rather than knowledgeable, as quickly...
September 29, 2013
Everybody has a crush on Nate Silver. The statistician-author-blogger calls elections and awards with titillating accuracy--and from what he's said before, it's mostly gut feeling. Thankfully HBR.org had the guts to ask him why. So let's learn how to have the stomach ourselves. TO GET DATA LITERATE QUICK, FIRST GET DIRTY. Silver's thoughts on getting good with data echo back to earlier findings on unstoppability: It's about getting as experienced, rather than knowledgeable, as quickly...
How Patent Lawyer Raj Abhyanker Developed a $8.5M Book of Business with Trademarkia
September 29, 2013
As a law student Raj Abhyanker had many questions, mostly about why the profession seemed so inefficient. "I wouldn't be surprised if some people didn't quite get Raj," says Douglas Sylvester, dean of Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. "His questions weren't about interpretations; they were challenges to the whole idea. "He was never very interested in learning the doctrine of rules," Sylvester adds. "It was always about 'I don't think this is right.'" Abhyanker,...
September 29, 2013
As a law student Raj Abhyanker had many questions, mostly about why the profession seemed so inefficient. "I wouldn't be surprised if some people didn't quite get Raj," says Douglas Sylvester, dean of Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. "His questions weren't about interpretations; they were challenges to the whole idea. "He was never very interested in learning the doctrine of rules," Sylvester adds. "It was always about 'I don't think this is right.'" Abhyanker,...
Ask the Marketers: How Vendors Can Avoid Rookie PR Mistakes
September 29, 2013
This week, I had the pleasure at Virtual LegalTech of presenting a one-hour webinar on "How to Protect & Enhance Your Clients' and Customers' Interests When Dealing with the Media." It's a program I have delivered for several years, that outlines the basics, such as the difference between "on-the-record" and "not-for-attribution," and explores how to turn "bad news into positive coverages," among other advice. (If you would like to view it, visit http://www.virtuallegaltechshow.com.) Preparing...
September 29, 2013
This week, I had the pleasure at Virtual LegalTech of presenting a one-hour webinar on "How to Protect & Enhance Your Clients' and Customers' Interests When Dealing with the Media." It's a program I have delivered for several years, that outlines the basics, such as the difference between "on-the-record" and "not-for-attribution," and explores how to turn "bad news into positive coverages," among other advice. (If you would like to view it, visit http://www.virtuallegaltechshow.com.) Preparing...
Straus Institute Co-Sponsors “Women in Hollywood: 100 Years of Negotiating the System”
September 28, 2013
Women have played important roles in the entertainment industry from its earliest days, achieving success as artists and attaining leadership positions in the industry. Yet significant challenges still exist. Women in Hollywood: 100 Years of Negotiating the System, to be held November 15-16, 2013, will address the issues facing women individually and collectively in the entertainment industry. Online registration is available on the Women in Hollywood website. "Women in creative, business,...
September 28, 2013
Women have played important roles in the entertainment industry from its earliest days, achieving success as artists and attaining leadership positions in the industry. Yet significant challenges still exist. Women in Hollywood: 100 Years of Negotiating the System, to be held November 15-16, 2013, will address the issues facing women individually and collectively in the entertainment industry. Online registration is available on the Women in Hollywood website. "Women in creative, business,...
