News
Five Initiatives That Legal Education Needs
September 28, 2013
Just like every other corner of the profession, legal education is grappling with a New Normal that was barely appreciated as recently as four or five years ago. Even as law schools welcomed incoming classes this year, the mood has changed. And it’s no secret why. Applications are down nationally for the third year in a row. And larger law firms are significantly cutting backon their entry-level hiring. The American Bar Association is also starting to focus on changes to legal education,...
September 28, 2013
Just like every other corner of the profession, legal education is grappling with a New Normal that was barely appreciated as recently as four or five years ago. Even as law schools welcomed incoming classes this year, the mood has changed. And it’s no secret why. Applications are down nationally for the third year in a row. And larger law firms are significantly cutting backon their entry-level hiring. The American Bar Association is also starting to focus on changes to legal education,...
Not So Fast: A Google Fiber 1-Gigabit Mystery
September 28, 2013
Google’s 1-gigabit service made a big statement, but what’s still far from clear is who actually uses it–and for what Google Fiber’s affordable 1 gigabit-per-second Internet service in Kansas City has been held out as an instrument of national shaming (see “When Will the Rest of us Get Google Fiber?”). But a few niggling questions remain. Who is really needs or uses the 1-gig service? What can you actually get from it?I was reminded of these questions last week, when Netflix...
September 28, 2013
Google’s 1-gigabit service made a big statement, but what’s still far from clear is who actually uses it–and for what Google Fiber’s affordable 1 gigabit-per-second Internet service in Kansas City has been held out as an instrument of national shaming (see “When Will the Rest of us Get Google Fiber?”). But a few niggling questions remain. Who is really needs or uses the 1-gig service? What can you actually get from it?I was reminded of these questions last week, when Netflix...
Technology That Learns
September 28, 2013
The focus of this year’s IBM 5 in 5 —that is, five life-changing innovations IBM researchers expect to see within the next five years—throws another five into the mix: the five senses. More specifically, IBMers are predicting that innovations in cognitive computing will soon enable us to better interpret the vast array of data available from what we touch, see, hear, taste and smell. A staggering amount of data is available in the world today. With sources ranging from GPS signals to social...
September 28, 2013
The focus of this year’s IBM 5 in 5 —that is, five life-changing innovations IBM researchers expect to see within the next five years—throws another five into the mix: the five senses. More specifically, IBMers are predicting that innovations in cognitive computing will soon enable us to better interpret the vast array of data available from what we touch, see, hear, taste and smell. A staggering amount of data is available in the world today. With sources ranging from GPS signals to social...
iPhone 5s: How Secure Is the Touch ID?
September 28, 2013
It came as no surprise that Apple Inc.'s new iPhone was hacked within a couple days of its release. The hack was hyped in the headlines all out of proportion to the hack itself. And the security vulnerability uncovered was really old and tattered. We have known for a long time that fingerprints could be compromised. But it was downright fun to read in SC Magazine that there was already a crowdsourced bounty to crack the iPhone 5s — the first Apple product to feature authentication via a fingerprint...
September 28, 2013
It came as no surprise that Apple Inc.'s new iPhone was hacked within a couple days of its release. The hack was hyped in the headlines all out of proportion to the hack itself. And the security vulnerability uncovered was really old and tattered. We have known for a long time that fingerprints could be compromised. But it was downright fun to read in SC Magazine that there was already a crowdsourced bounty to crack the iPhone 5s — the first Apple product to feature authentication via a fingerprint...
Press on Court-Connected Mediation and Minorities
September 27, 2013
Sharon Press (Hamline) has published Court-Connected Mediation and Minorities: Has Any Progress Been Made? in the Summer 2013 issue of the Dispute Resolution Magazine, available here. Press’s article provides a wonderful summary of concerns in mediation related to minority mediators and to minorities as parties in mediation. Regarding minority mediators, Press observes: [C]ommunity mediation began with a strong commitment to employing racially diverse personnel and volunteer mediators. The model...
September 27, 2013
Sharon Press (Hamline) has published Court-Connected Mediation and Minorities: Has Any Progress Been Made? in the Summer 2013 issue of the Dispute Resolution Magazine, available here. Press’s article provides a wonderful summary of concerns in mediation related to minority mediators and to minorities as parties in mediation. Regarding minority mediators, Press observes: [C]ommunity mediation began with a strong commitment to employing racially diverse personnel and volunteer mediators. The model...
The Supreme Court’s New Arbitrability Options
September 27, 2013
An enduring issue in U.S. jurisprudence has been the difficulty of determining when a court, rather than an arbitral tribunal, should make the initial decision on whether the arbitrators have the authority to hear a dispute. Although the Supreme Court has provided general guidance on this “gateway” question in a few cases, there has been substantial room for lower court judges to fashion an array of arbitrability rulings. The tendency has been to favor the arbitrators as the first stop, drawing...
September 27, 2013
An enduring issue in U.S. jurisprudence has been the difficulty of determining when a court, rather than an arbitral tribunal, should make the initial decision on whether the arbitrators have the authority to hear a dispute. Although the Supreme Court has provided general guidance on this “gateway” question in a few cases, there has been substantial room for lower court judges to fashion an array of arbitrability rulings. The tendency has been to favor the arbitrators as the first stop, drawing...
Engineering Peace: Achieving the Promise of Mediation in the World’s Most Difficult Conflicts
September 27, 2013
This is the third in a series of four postings written by Irena Vanenkova, Tina Monberg, Nadja Alexander and Michael Leathes. The previous posts appeared on the 17th and 20th August on the Kluwer Mediation Blog. Previously we noted that the UN and world political leaders increasingly perceive mediation as vital for avoiding and resolving conflict at all levels in society. Yet mediation has not taken off in the practice of peace. In this posting we begin a discussion on changing mindsets. Changing...
September 27, 2013
This is the third in a series of four postings written by Irena Vanenkova, Tina Monberg, Nadja Alexander and Michael Leathes. The previous posts appeared on the 17th and 20th August on the Kluwer Mediation Blog. Previously we noted that the UN and world political leaders increasingly perceive mediation as vital for avoiding and resolving conflict at all levels in society. Yet mediation has not taken off in the practice of peace. In this posting we begin a discussion on changing mindsets. Changing...
Texas Supreme Court Enforces Mediated Settlement By Mandamus
September 27, 2013
11-0732 In re Stephanie Lee from Harris County and the 14th District Court of Appeals, Houston For relator: Scott Rothenberg, Houston For real party in interest: Clinton F. Lawson, San Antonio MANDAMUS RELIEF GRANTED, opinion by Justice Lehrmann: The principal issue is whether a mediated settlement must be enforced that provides, in the absence of family violence, a divorced mother periodic possession of her 7-year-old daughter when the mother is married to a registered sex offender. The trial...
September 27, 2013
11-0732 In re Stephanie Lee from Harris County and the 14th District Court of Appeals, Houston For relator: Scott Rothenberg, Houston For real party in interest: Clinton F. Lawson, San Antonio MANDAMUS RELIEF GRANTED, opinion by Justice Lehrmann: The principal issue is whether a mediated settlement must be enforced that provides, in the absence of family violence, a divorced mother periodic possession of her 7-year-old daughter when the mother is married to a registered sex offender. The trial...
A Cup Full of Coffee Makes the Argument Go Down…
September 27, 2013
In every mediation, one of the first questions asked by participants is “where is the coffee?” Indeed, coffee has long been a staple of all mediations. Now new research regarding our mandatory morning ritual demonstrates that coffee may have a positive effect on the negotiation process and in convincing the other side to your view.may also have Researchers in Australia ran an experiment in which participants were presented with two opposing sides of several arguments. One group was given...
September 27, 2013
In every mediation, one of the first questions asked by participants is “where is the coffee?” Indeed, coffee has long been a staple of all mediations. Now new research regarding our mandatory morning ritual demonstrates that coffee may have a positive effect on the negotiation process and in convincing the other side to your view.may also have Researchers in Australia ran an experiment in which participants were presented with two opposing sides of several arguments. One group was given...
Class Action Waiver Provisions Enforceable in Second Circuit Post-Amex
September 27, 2013
In back-to-back opinions addressing wage disputes brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s orders denying defendants’ motions to compel arbitration. In so doing, the Second Circuit explicitly followed the Supreme Court’s holding in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant that plaintiffs cannot use the “effective vindication doctrine” to invalidate class action waiver provisions by showing that their claim is not economically...
September 27, 2013
In back-to-back opinions addressing wage disputes brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s orders denying defendants’ motions to compel arbitration. In so doing, the Second Circuit explicitly followed the Supreme Court’s holding in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant that plaintiffs cannot use the “effective vindication doctrine” to invalidate class action waiver provisions by showing that their claim is not economically...
