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Dallas COA Dismisses Arbitration Award for Lack of Jurisdiction
September 19, 2013
Texas’ Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has invalidated an arbitration award for lack of jurisdiction. In American...
September 19, 2013
Texas’ Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has invalidated an arbitration award for lack of jurisdiction. In American...
Intern Class Actions on the Rise
September 19, 2013
The rise in unpaid internships has led to an equally significant uptick in litigation brought by interns demanding compensation for performing the same work as paid employees. And the interns are winning. Two interns who worked on Fox Searchlight’s film Black Swan, for example, brought a class action lawsuit claiming the company’s unpaid internship program violated federal minimum wage and overtime laws. A New York federal judge sided with the interns, ruling in June that they should have...
September 19, 2013
The rise in unpaid internships has led to an equally significant uptick in litigation brought by interns demanding compensation for performing the same work as paid employees. And the interns are winning. Two interns who worked on Fox Searchlight’s film Black Swan, for example, brought a class action lawsuit claiming the company’s unpaid internship program violated federal minimum wage and overtime laws. A New York federal judge sided with the interns, ruling in June that they should have...
Caseload Increases Stress Need for New Federal Judgeships
September 18, 2013
"To enable the Judiciary to continue serving litigants efficiently and effectively, the judicial workforce must be expanded," a Judicial Conference representative today told Congress --noting that it has been more than two decades since Congress last passed a comprehensive judgeship bill. Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich, chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Resources, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts, to testify on the Article III judgeship...
September 18, 2013
"To enable the Judiciary to continue serving litigants efficiently and effectively, the judicial workforce must be expanded," a Judicial Conference representative today told Congress --noting that it has been more than two decades since Congress last passed a comprehensive judgeship bill. Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich, chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Resources, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts, to testify on the Article III judgeship...
Second and Ninth Circuits Allow Employers To Preclude Collective FLSA Claims, Rejecting NLRB Ruling
September 18, 2013
In January of this year, the Eighth Circuit was the first federal appellate court to refuse to adopt the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling on class action waivers in employment contracts. (The previous year, in D.R. Horton, the NLRB declared it a violation of federal labor law for employers to require employees to waive their rights to class actions.) Last month, the Second and Ninth Circuits joined the Eighth Circuit in that stance. In Sutherland v. Ernst & Young, __ F.3d__,...
September 18, 2013
In January of this year, the Eighth Circuit was the first federal appellate court to refuse to adopt the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling on class action waivers in employment contracts. (The previous year, in D.R. Horton, the NLRB declared it a violation of federal labor law for employers to require employees to waive their rights to class actions.) Last month, the Second and Ninth Circuits joined the Eighth Circuit in that stance. In Sutherland v. Ernst & Young, __ F.3d__,...
Six New Rules for Commercial Arbitration
September 18, 2013
The American Arbitration Association, whose arbitration rules applied to 6,000 commercial disputes last year, released updated commercial arbitration rules on September 9th. The changes come largely as a result of “party preferences,” AAA General Counsel Eric Tuchmann told CorpCounsel.com. Corporate users and attorneys alike say they want “a better-managed process” and “an arbitrator who’s going to take control of the case,” according to Tuchmann. The updates include clear language...
September 18, 2013
The American Arbitration Association, whose arbitration rules applied to 6,000 commercial disputes last year, released updated commercial arbitration rules on September 9th. The changes come largely as a result of “party preferences,” AAA General Counsel Eric Tuchmann told CorpCounsel.com. Corporate users and attorneys alike say they want “a better-managed process” and “an arbitrator who’s going to take control of the case,” according to Tuchmann. The updates include clear language...
2014 ABA Litigation Section Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar in Rancho Mirage
September 18, 2013
Dear Friends and Colleagues: Please join us at the Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, California on February 13 through 16, 2014 for our annual Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar! We are very pleased to announce that -- as we did for the first time ever last year -- we are once again able to offer FREE REGISTRATION FOR IN-HOUSE COUNSEL for the 2014 Seminar! Please help us spread the word! We are also proud to have three outstanding General Counsel serving as our Honorary...
September 18, 2013
Dear Friends and Colleagues: Please join us at the Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, California on February 13 through 16, 2014 for our annual Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar! We are very pleased to announce that -- as we did for the first time ever last year -- we are once again able to offer FREE REGISTRATION FOR IN-HOUSE COUNSEL for the 2014 Seminar! Please help us spread the word! We are also proud to have three outstanding General Counsel serving as our Honorary...
Class-Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Are Enforceable
September 18, 2013
The Fourth Circuit held that class-action waivers in otherwise valid arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011), “plainly prohibited” the courts from invalidating an otherwise valid arbitration agreement due to a class-action waiver. As a result, it is error to hold that a class-action waiver in an arbitration agreement is unconscionable.
September 18, 2013
The Fourth Circuit held that class-action waivers in otherwise valid arbitration agreements are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011), “plainly prohibited” the courts from invalidating an otherwise valid arbitration agreement due to a class-action waiver. As a result, it is error to hold that a class-action waiver in an arbitration agreement is unconscionable.
The Adjunct Advantage
September 17, 2013
A major new study has found that new students at Northwestern University learn more when their instructors are adjuncts than...
September 17, 2013
A major new study has found that new students at Northwestern University learn more when their instructors are adjuncts than...
ReInvent Law Lab Wins 2013 InnovAction Award
September 17, 2013
The ReInvent Law Laboratory at Michigan State University’s College of Law was named a 2013 InnovAction Award winner in recognition of its work to promote innovation in the legal services industry. The InnovAction Awards — now in their ninth year — recognize outstanding innovation in the field of law and delivery of legal services. According to the College of Law Practice Management, which administers the InnovAction program, the awards highlight “what can happen when passionate professionals,...
September 17, 2013
The ReInvent Law Laboratory at Michigan State University’s College of Law was named a 2013 InnovAction Award winner in recognition of its work to promote innovation in the legal services industry. The InnovAction Awards — now in their ninth year — recognize outstanding innovation in the field of law and delivery of legal services. According to the College of Law Practice Management, which administers the InnovAction program, the awards highlight “what can happen when passionate professionals,...
Global Disputes of the Year
September 17, 2013
The American Lawyer Global Disputes of the Year honor the winning team in transnational cases no matter where they play out. Among this year’s winners are the holders of record awards in both commercial and investment arbitration (The Dow Chemical Company and Occidental Petroleum Corporation). Roman Abramovich and Porsche Automobil Holding SE beat back multibillion-dollar transnational claims in more traditional (national) forums. Mayer Brown improbably pioneered the law in Geneva on technical...
September 17, 2013
The American Lawyer Global Disputes of the Year honor the winning team in transnational cases no matter where they play out. Among this year’s winners are the holders of record awards in both commercial and investment arbitration (The Dow Chemical Company and Occidental Petroleum Corporation). Roman Abramovich and Porsche Automobil Holding SE beat back multibillion-dollar transnational claims in more traditional (national) forums. Mayer Brown improbably pioneered the law in Geneva on technical...
