Blog Archives
An Empirical Study of Dispute Resolution Clauses in International Supply Contracts
July 25, 2018
International transactions present unique legal risks. When a contract touches several different nations, a party may not know where it will be called upon to defend a lawsuit or, alternatively, which nation’s law will be applied to resolve that dispute. To mitigate these risks, parties will often write dispute resolution provisions into their contracts. Arbitration clauses and forum selection clauses help to reduce uncertainty relating to forum. Choice-of-law clauses help to reduce uncertainty...
July 25, 2018
International transactions present unique legal risks. When a contract touches several different nations, a party may not know where it will be called upon to defend a lawsuit or, alternatively, which nation’s law will be applied to resolve that dispute. To mitigate these risks, parties will often write dispute resolution provisions into their contracts. Arbitration clauses and forum selection clauses help to reduce uncertainty relating to forum. Choice-of-law clauses help to reduce uncertainty...
No Signature, No Arbitration
July 25, 2018
Huckaba signed an arbitration agreement with her employer, Ref-Chem – but Ref-Chem did not sign the agreement. The agreement had signature blocks for both parties, referred to the “signature affixed hereto” and the legal effect of “signing this agreement,” and also said that it “may not be changed, except in writing and signed by all parties.” The Fifth Circuit concluded that the agreement was not enforceable, focusing on the distinction between acceptance of the offer, and the separate...
July 25, 2018
Huckaba signed an arbitration agreement with her employer, Ref-Chem – but Ref-Chem did not sign the agreement. The agreement had signature blocks for both parties, referred to the “signature affixed hereto” and the legal effect of “signing this agreement,” and also said that it “may not be changed, except in writing and signed by all parties.” The Fifth Circuit concluded that the agreement was not enforceable, focusing on the distinction between acceptance of the offer, and the separate...
Law Firms Climb Aboard the AI Wagon
July 24, 2018
A growing number of legal startups now apply machine-learning techniques to these tasks. The algorithms can process much more paperwork than humans in a fraction of the time. They recognise clauses and point out anomalies. They might highlight contracts where liability is unlimited rather than limited. They can even point out contracts where key clauses are absent. The latter is something that humans do not always reliably do, says Noah Waisberg, a former corporate lawyer who founded Kira Systems,...
July 24, 2018
A growing number of legal startups now apply machine-learning techniques to these tasks. The algorithms can process much more paperwork than humans in a fraction of the time. They recognise clauses and point out anomalies. They might highlight contracts where liability is unlimited rather than limited. They can even point out contracts where key clauses are absent. The latter is something that humans do not always reliably do, says Noah Waisberg, a former corporate lawyer who founded Kira Systems,...
Federal Circuits Split On Whether Uber Can Enforce Arbitration Clause
July 24, 2018
The lesson here is two-fold. First, there is no clear standard for when terms on a website (or on a receipt, or in a box) are sufficiently conspicuous, so judges are left to their own devices (pun intended) to answer that question. Second, unless an on-line provider wants judges — who are likely untrained in the psychology of consumer design related to five inch screens (and may not even have any apps) — to keep on getting to whatever result they please, the only solution is to require...
July 24, 2018
The lesson here is two-fold. First, there is no clear standard for when terms on a website (or on a receipt, or in a box) are sufficiently conspicuous, so judges are left to their own devices (pun intended) to answer that question. Second, unless an on-line provider wants judges — who are likely untrained in the psychology of consumer design related to five inch screens (and may not even have any apps) — to keep on getting to whatever result they please, the only solution is to require...
Ware on the Federal Arbitration Act, Preemption, and Consumer and Employee Arbitration Agreements
July 23, 2018
Stephen J. Ware (University of Kansas - School of Law) has posted A Short Defense of Southland, Casarotto, and Other Long-Controversial Arbitration Decisions (Loyola Consumer Law Review, Vol. 30, No. 3, 2018) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Scalding criticism of Supreme Court arbitration decisions appeared in the 1990’s and is now widespread. Over twenty years ago, the Supreme Court held that pre-dispute arbitration clauses in adhesion contracts are generally enforceable. Thoughtful scholars...
July 23, 2018
Stephen J. Ware (University of Kansas - School of Law) has posted A Short Defense of Southland, Casarotto, and Other Long-Controversial Arbitration Decisions (Loyola Consumer Law Review, Vol. 30, No. 3, 2018) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Scalding criticism of Supreme Court arbitration decisions appeared in the 1990’s and is now widespread. Over twenty years ago, the Supreme Court held that pre-dispute arbitration clauses in adhesion contracts are generally enforceable. Thoughtful scholars...
Arbitration Clause Enforceability Seems Like a Pretty Safe Bet These Days
July 23, 2018
There is very little you can bet on in life but it seems like the continued prevalence of arbitration clauses is one of them. We just had a Supreme Court ruling confirming that, and a recent case out of Nebraska, Heineman v. The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, No. S-17-983, continues in the same vein. As far as the public policy concern went, the lower court had relied on a federal regulation prohibiting arbitration clauses as a requirement for admission to long-term...
July 23, 2018
There is very little you can bet on in life but it seems like the continued prevalence of arbitration clauses is one of them. We just had a Supreme Court ruling confirming that, and a recent case out of Nebraska, Heineman v. The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, No. S-17-983, continues in the same vein. As far as the public policy concern went, the lower court had relied on a federal regulation prohibiting arbitration clauses as a requirement for admission to long-term...
Pasquale on Jeffersonian & Hamiltonian Visions of Tech Platforms
July 22, 2018
Frank A. Pasquale (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) has posted Tech Platforms and the Knowledge Problem (American Affairs, Summer 2018, at 3) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Jeffersonians call for a new era of antitrust enforcement to break up giant firms. These populist and localist critics of leading technology platforms, megabanks, and health care behemoths are decentralizers. They believe that, in a just society, power must be widely dispersed. They promote strong...
July 22, 2018
Frank A. Pasquale (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) has posted Tech Platforms and the Knowledge Problem (American Affairs, Summer 2018, at 3) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Jeffersonians call for a new era of antitrust enforcement to break up giant firms. These populist and localist critics of leading technology platforms, megabanks, and health care behemoths are decentralizers. They believe that, in a just society, power must be widely dispersed. They promote strong...
8 Estate Planning Moves If You Are Getting Divorced
July 22, 2018
Divorces can be messy They can be emotionally tiring with numerous decisions to be made. Before the divorce is finalized, your spouse still has several legal rights, but you would like to maintain as much control over your assets as possible. Also, if you happen to pass away or become incapicitated before that finalization, there are things that you can do to upold that command. Here are 8 estate planning suggestions to add to your divorce to-do list Update your healthcare proxy. Change your...
July 22, 2018
Divorces can be messy They can be emotionally tiring with numerous decisions to be made. Before the divorce is finalized, your spouse still has several legal rights, but you would like to maintain as much control over your assets as possible. Also, if you happen to pass away or become incapicitated before that finalization, there are things that you can do to upold that command. Here are 8 estate planning suggestions to add to your divorce to-do list Update your healthcare proxy. Change your...
Sunstein, Reisch, & Kaiser on Trusting Nudges
July 21, 2018
Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)), Lucia A. Reisch (Copenhagen Business School - Department of Management, Society and Communication; Zeppelin University CCMP - Center for Consumers Markets Politics), & Micha Kaiser (University of Hohenheim) have posted Trusting Nudges? Lessons from an International Survey on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the past decade, policymakers have increasingly used behaviourally informed policies, including...
July 21, 2018
Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)), Lucia A. Reisch (Copenhagen Business School - Department of Management, Society and Communication; Zeppelin University CCMP - Center for Consumers Markets Politics), & Micha Kaiser (University of Hohenheim) have posted Trusting Nudges? Lessons from an International Survey on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the past decade, policymakers have increasingly used behaviourally informed policies, including...
Allstate CEO: AI Will Thrash the Economy Like a ‘Tsunami’
July 21, 2018
Artificial intelligence is coming for the service economy, according to Allstate Corp. Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson. “It’s going to rip through this economy like a tsunami,” Wilson said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg TV from Aspen, Colorado. Automation will affect a wide swath of workers, from traders to taxi drivers. McKinsey & Co. estimates that more than 400 million people worldwide could be looking for work by 2030 because technology took their jobs. That change...
July 21, 2018
Artificial intelligence is coming for the service economy, according to Allstate Corp. Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson. “It’s going to rip through this economy like a tsunami,” Wilson said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg TV from Aspen, Colorado. Automation will affect a wide swath of workers, from traders to taxi drivers. McKinsey & Co. estimates that more than 400 million people worldwide could be looking for work by 2030 because technology took their jobs. That change...
