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Google to Try to Solve Death, LOL
September 21, 2013
A joke about Silicon Valley is that entrepreneurs always seem to focus on the problems facing people of their own age. That’s...
September 21, 2013
A joke about Silicon Valley is that entrepreneurs always seem to focus on the problems facing people of their own age. That’s...
Who Represents America’s Biggest Companies 2013
September 20, 2013
Even casual readers of the financial media may have noticed a certain pattern lately. With every new report about unemployment, factory utilization, or home/auto sales, forecasters and pundits alike seek to reassure us that we're out of the Great Recession, which began in 2008. Is it back to normal yet? In the United States, at least, the signs are somewhat promising. The sickening skid in real estate prices has been arrested, the auto industry is on track to sell some 16 million vehicles this...
September 20, 2013
Even casual readers of the financial media may have noticed a certain pattern lately. With every new report about unemployment, factory utilization, or home/auto sales, forecasters and pundits alike seek to reassure us that we're out of the Great Recession, which began in 2008. Is it back to normal yet? In the United States, at least, the signs are somewhat promising. The sickening skid in real estate prices has been arrested, the auto industry is on track to sell some 16 million vehicles this...
Smart Robots Can Now Work Right Next to Auto Workers
September 20, 2013
BMW has taken a huge step toward revolutionizing the role of robots in automotive manufacturing by having a handful of robots work side-by-side with human workers at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. As a new generation of safer, more user-friendly robots emerges, BMW’s man-machine collaboration could be the first of many examples of robots taking on new human tasks, and working more closely alongside humans. While many fear that this trend could put people out of work (see “How Technology...
September 20, 2013
BMW has taken a huge step toward revolutionizing the role of robots in automotive manufacturing by having a handful of robots work side-by-side with human workers at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. As a new generation of safer, more user-friendly robots emerges, BMW’s man-machine collaboration could be the first of many examples of robots taking on new human tasks, and working more closely alongside humans. While many fear that this trend could put people out of work (see “How Technology...
The Court’s 2012 Class Act: A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That
September 20, 2013
University of Texas School of Law Professor Linda S. Mullenix has published, The Court’s 2012 Class Act: A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That, Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, Vol. 40, No. 8, pp. 328-335 (Aug. 10, 2013); U of Texas Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 516. In her paper, Professor Mullenix examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent class litigation and arbitration decisions including Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter and American Express Co. v. Italian...
September 20, 2013
University of Texas School of Law Professor Linda S. Mullenix has published, The Court’s 2012 Class Act: A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That, Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, Vol. 40, No. 8, pp. 328-335 (Aug. 10, 2013); U of Texas Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 516. In her paper, Professor Mullenix examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent class litigation and arbitration decisions including Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter and American Express Co. v. Italian...
Negotiation Strategies for Corporations and Law Firms
September 20, 2013
The TyMetrix Legal Analytics LegalVIEW® Forum brings law firms and corporations together to discuss the most pressing legal issues of the day and develop unique value-based best practices. OVERVIEW AT A GLANCE The Power of the New Normal Hear from industry veteran Tim Corcoran how adapting to the new normal is good for law firms, good for in-house counsel and good for business. The underlying point is that embracing these concepts aren't a necessary evil, but can actually lead to better...
September 20, 2013
The TyMetrix Legal Analytics LegalVIEW® Forum brings law firms and corporations together to discuss the most pressing legal issues of the day and develop unique value-based best practices. OVERVIEW AT A GLANCE The Power of the New Normal Hear from industry veteran Tim Corcoran how adapting to the new normal is good for law firms, good for in-house counsel and good for business. The underlying point is that embracing these concepts aren't a necessary evil, but can actually lead to better...
Use of Mediation in Class Action Settlements Helpful for Court Approval
September 20, 2013
A federal court in Moore v. Verizon Communications Inc. approved the mediated settlement of litigation against Verizon on behalf of a nationwide class of Verizon customers who had been “crammed” or billed unauthorized charges. The court noted that the parties’ decision to settle was fully informed in part due to the extensive exchange of information for mediation, multiple briefings during mediation, and six full-day mediation sessions over the course of a year. The court also relied on the experience...
September 20, 2013
A federal court in Moore v. Verizon Communications Inc. approved the mediated settlement of litigation against Verizon on behalf of a nationwide class of Verizon customers who had been “crammed” or billed unauthorized charges. The court noted that the parties’ decision to settle was fully informed in part due to the extensive exchange of information for mediation, multiple briefings during mediation, and six full-day mediation sessions over the course of a year. The court also relied on the experience...
FINRA Arbitration Rules Prohibiting Class Waiver NOT Preempted
September 20, 2013
From the BNA Labor Reports: “A federal district court in New York Sept. 11 declined to compel financial solutions analysts pursuing a class and collective overtime action against brokerage firm Merrill Lynch to individually arbitrate their claims under the procedures of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Zeltser v. Merrill Lynch & Co., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:13-cv-01531, 9/11/13). The Merrill Lynch employees, like others in the securities industry, were required to sign agreements to arbitrate...
September 20, 2013
From the BNA Labor Reports: “A federal district court in New York Sept. 11 declined to compel financial solutions analysts pursuing a class and collective overtime action against brokerage firm Merrill Lynch to individually arbitrate their claims under the procedures of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Zeltser v. Merrill Lynch & Co., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:13-cv-01531, 9/11/13). The Merrill Lynch employees, like others in the securities industry, were required to sign agreements to arbitrate...
Cert Sought in Montana Case Narrowly Crafting a Common Law Unconscionability / Adhesion Doctrine
September 19, 2013
In a 2005 article published in The Montana Lawyer, James M. Gaitis wrote that "it would appear that the [Montana Supreme] [C]ourt is on the brink of creating a narrowly crafted common law unconscionability/adhesion doctrine that applies solely to arbitration provisions." That appears to be what the Montana Supreme Court at least in part may have done in Kelker v. Geneva-Roth Ventures, 303 P.3d 777 (Mont. 2013), when it ruled that on online arbitration agreement regarding a "payday" loan was unconscionable...
September 19, 2013
In a 2005 article published in The Montana Lawyer, James M. Gaitis wrote that "it would appear that the [Montana Supreme] [C]ourt is on the brink of creating a narrowly crafted common law unconscionability/adhesion doctrine that applies solely to arbitration provisions." That appears to be what the Montana Supreme Court at least in part may have done in Kelker v. Geneva-Roth Ventures, 303 P.3d 777 (Mont. 2013), when it ruled that on online arbitration agreement regarding a "payday" loan was unconscionable...
Company Sues Its Ex-General Counsel for Attempting to Derail Lawsuit Settlement
September 19, 2013
Isramco Inc. of Houston filed a negligence and breach of fiduciary duty suit against its former general counsel Dennis James...
September 19, 2013
Isramco Inc. of Houston filed a negligence and breach of fiduciary duty suit against its former general counsel Dennis James...
New Jersey Supreme Court Enforces Oral Settlement Agreement, But Requires Signed Agreements in the Future Before Mediation Ends
September 19, 2013
Parties in a commercial dispute reached an oral agreement in mediation, but the lack of a signed settlement agreement resulted in litigation. The New Jersey Supreme Court ultimately upheld the oral agreement, but established a requirement that future mediated settlements must be written agreements signed before the mediation ends. The Court noted that the plaintiff could have avoided enforcement of the oral agreement simply by relying on the confidentiality of mediation. Instead, the plaintiff engaged...
September 19, 2013
Parties in a commercial dispute reached an oral agreement in mediation, but the lack of a signed settlement agreement resulted in litigation. The New Jersey Supreme Court ultimately upheld the oral agreement, but established a requirement that future mediated settlements must be written agreements signed before the mediation ends. The Court noted that the plaintiff could have avoided enforcement of the oral agreement simply by relying on the confidentiality of mediation. Instead, the plaintiff engaged...
