Blog Archives
Higdon: “If You Grant It, They Will Come: The Enduring Legal Legacy of Migratory Divorce”
February 21, 2021
Michael J. Higdon (Tennessee) has recently posted to SSRN his paper If You Grant It, They Will Come: The Enduring Legal Legacy of Migratory Divorce. Here is the abstract: Fifty years ago, California became the first state to enact no-fault divorce, making it easier than ever before for individuals to dissolve unsuccessful marriages. Soon every state would follow suit, and over the years much has been written about this national shift in the law of divorce. What has thus far escaped...
February 21, 2021
Michael J. Higdon (Tennessee) has recently posted to SSRN his paper If You Grant It, They Will Come: The Enduring Legal Legacy of Migratory Divorce. Here is the abstract: Fifty years ago, California became the first state to enact no-fault divorce, making it easier than ever before for individuals to dissolve unsuccessful marriages. Soon every state would follow suit, and over the years much has been written about this national shift in the law of divorce. What has thus far escaped...
Lawyers smoke cigars, drink wine during Zoom hearings; litigants appear from hair salon or while driving
February 20, 2021
The Louisville Courier Journal lists other examples of remote hearing mishaps and misjudgments in Kentucky: • A lawyer fell asleep and began snoring during motion hour, according to Judge Charles Cunningham. • A client appeared in her bikini by a pool, while another drank a beer, according to lawyer Erin Pippin. • A lawyer puffed on a cigar while cases were being called, according to Judge Julie Kaelin. • Someone who wasn’t muted complained “This is f—ing stupid,” according...
February 20, 2021
The Louisville Courier Journal lists other examples of remote hearing mishaps and misjudgments in Kentucky: • A lawyer fell asleep and began snoring during motion hour, according to Judge Charles Cunningham. • A client appeared in her bikini by a pool, while another drank a beer, according to lawyer Erin Pippin. • A lawyer puffed on a cigar while cases were being called, according to Judge Julie Kaelin. • Someone who wasn’t muted complained “This is f—ing stupid,” according...
Humble Curiosity, Peter Robinson’s SCMA Keynote Presentation
February 19, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wxx5CVUPYw&feature=emb_logo
February 19, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wxx5CVUPYw&feature=emb_logo
Norton Rose Fulbright releases 16th annual Litigation Trends Survey
February 18, 2021
In global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright's 16th annual Litigation Trends Survey, nearly half of the corporate counsel respondents state that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused either an increase or decrease in their volume of disputes. Primarily driven by commercial/contract issues and employment and labor disputes, 31 percent of corporations reported an increase in litigation as a result of COVID-19. Conversely, 12 percent reported experiencing a decrease in disputes due to the pandemic....
February 18, 2021
In global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright's 16th annual Litigation Trends Survey, nearly half of the corporate counsel respondents state that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused either an increase or decrease in their volume of disputes. Primarily driven by commercial/contract issues and employment and labor disputes, 31 percent of corporations reported an increase in litigation as a result of COVID-19. Conversely, 12 percent reported experiencing a decrease in disputes due to the pandemic....
Empirical Analysis of De-Biasing
February 17, 2021
Jim Stark and Doug Frenkel just became scholars-in-residence with the International Academy of Mediators, following in the footsteps of Hal Abramson, Lela Love, and Dwight Golann. I have been impressed by their scholarship, particularly two articles: Improving Lawyer’s Judgment: Is Mediation Training De-Biasing?, 21 Harvard Negotiation Law Review 1 (2015), and Changing Minds: The Work of Mediators and Empirical Studies of Persuasion, 28 Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 263 (2013). ...
February 17, 2021
Jim Stark and Doug Frenkel just became scholars-in-residence with the International Academy of Mediators, following in the footsteps of Hal Abramson, Lela Love, and Dwight Golann. I have been impressed by their scholarship, particularly two articles: Improving Lawyer’s Judgment: Is Mediation Training De-Biasing?, 21 Harvard Negotiation Law Review 1 (2015), and Changing Minds: The Work of Mediators and Empirical Studies of Persuasion, 28 Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 263 (2013). ...
San Antonio lawyers’ early verdict on virtual trials: let’s keep them
February 16, 2021
The judges and lawyers huddled on their screens and talked about what worked and what didn’t. A surprising amount of it worked. Bexar County has held a handful of civil jury trials on Zoom, and some of the participants were so struck by the advantages of teleconferencing over actual courtrooms that they want them to continue after the coronavirus pandemic is over. A judge at a recent debriefing session — also on Zoom — posed a question: “Would you do it again, and are you looking forward...
February 16, 2021
The judges and lawyers huddled on their screens and talked about what worked and what didn’t. A surprising amount of it worked. Bexar County has held a handful of civil jury trials on Zoom, and some of the participants were so struck by the advantages of teleconferencing over actual courtrooms that they want them to continue after the coronavirus pandemic is over. A judge at a recent debriefing session — also on Zoom — posed a question: “Would you do it again, and are you looking forward...
Lawyers Are From Mars, Clients Are From Venus – And Mediators Can Help Communicate in Space
February 15, 2021
Legal clients often experience intense stress in the litigation process. Professor Dwight Golann noted that parties often grieve over significant feelings of loss in negotiation, which can prevent them from negotiating effectively and reaching agreements. Any party – including defendants and plaintiffs – may have these strong reactions in any kind of case. A recent study, based on 50 focus groups of new lawyers and supervisors of new lawyers, found that new lawyers are “woefully...
February 15, 2021
Legal clients often experience intense stress in the litigation process. Professor Dwight Golann noted that parties often grieve over significant feelings of loss in negotiation, which can prevent them from negotiating effectively and reaching agreements. Any party – including defendants and plaintiffs – may have these strong reactions in any kind of case. A recent study, based on 50 focus groups of new lawyers and supervisors of new lawyers, found that new lawyers are “woefully...
ODR and Mediation Chapter
February 14, 2021
Noam Ebner and Daniel Rainey published a chapter entitled ODR and Mediation in the second edition of Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice. Here’s the abstract: Online mediation had been spreading rapidly as a mode of practice, even before the entire profession shifted online during the COVID-19 era. In this chapter, Ebner and Rainey survey the development of online mediation within the wider context of the growth of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). The chapter...
February 14, 2021
Noam Ebner and Daniel Rainey published a chapter entitled ODR and Mediation in the second edition of Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice. Here’s the abstract: Online mediation had been spreading rapidly as a mode of practice, even before the entire profession shifted online during the COVID-19 era. In this chapter, Ebner and Rainey survey the development of online mediation within the wider context of the growth of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). The chapter...
Legal Reasoning Across Commercial Disputes: Comparing Judicial and Arbitral Analyses
February 12, 2021
Legal Reasoning Across Commercial Disputes: Comparing Judicial and Arbitral Analyses provides important insights into how judges and arbitrators resolve complex commercial disputes in both national and international settings. Using the outcomes of a major international survey and series of semi-structured interviews of judges and arbitrators as well as a statistical (quantitative) analysis of judicial decisions and arbitral awards, the book considers whether and to what extent differences...
February 12, 2021
Legal Reasoning Across Commercial Disputes: Comparing Judicial and Arbitral Analyses provides important insights into how judges and arbitrators resolve complex commercial disputes in both national and international settings. Using the outcomes of a major international survey and series of semi-structured interviews of judges and arbitrators as well as a statistical (quantitative) analysis of judicial decisions and arbitral awards, the book considers whether and to what extent differences...
Third-Party Funding Finds its Place in the New ICC Rules
February 11, 2021
Third-party funding (TPF) has come a long way from its humble beginnings at the fringes of various jurisdictions, where it was historically a tort and even a crime. Today, the doctrines of champerty and maintenance have been decriminalized and in most jurisdictions no longer fall foul of public policy considerations. TPF is now perceived as one of the key instruments to provide access to justice: In 2013, former President of the UK Supreme Court Lord Neuberger observed that funding is “the life-blood...
February 11, 2021
Third-party funding (TPF) has come a long way from its humble beginnings at the fringes of various jurisdictions, where it was historically a tort and even a crime. Today, the doctrines of champerty and maintenance have been decriminalized and in most jurisdictions no longer fall foul of public policy considerations. TPF is now perceived as one of the key instruments to provide access to justice: In 2013, former President of the UK Supreme Court Lord Neuberger observed that funding is “the life-blood...
