Blog Archives
Law firms may be at ‘tipping point’ for change because of COVID-19 pandemic, new report says
February 10, 2021
Law firms learned lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic that could translate to permanent changes in the way that they manage their operations, deliver legal services and treat their employees, according to a report released Tuesday. There are signs that 2020 and 2021 may be regarded as a “tipping point” for change—or at least a time for accelerated change, according to the 2021 Report on the State of the Legal Market. Technology is also likely gaining greater acceptance. The change...
February 10, 2021
Law firms learned lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic that could translate to permanent changes in the way that they manage their operations, deliver legal services and treat their employees, according to a report released Tuesday. There are signs that 2020 and 2021 may be regarded as a “tipping point” for change—or at least a time for accelerated change, according to the 2021 Report on the State of the Legal Market. Technology is also likely gaining greater acceptance. The change...
Chapter 22: The Value of Economic Analysis in Preparing for Mediation
February 9, 2021
From the latest Third Edition: I. Introduction “Why?” the child asks, negotiating a reprieve from eating green beans in favor of an early dessert. “Because green beans are good for you,” may have a hollow ring. “Because I said so” may work only to the extent of the power imbalance. Children want to know how their parents reach the conclusions that they serve up as positions. They probe for underlying rationales and interests. Litigants have the same need to understand how their...
February 9, 2021
From the latest Third Edition: I. Introduction “Why?” the child asks, negotiating a reprieve from eating green beans in favor of an early dessert. “Because green beans are good for you,” may have a hollow ring. “Because I said so” may work only to the extent of the power imbalance. Children want to know how their parents reach the conclusions that they serve up as positions. They probe for underlying rationales and interests. Litigants have the same need to understand how their...
Behavioral Ethics, Deception, and Legal Negotiation
February 8, 2021
Research in the field of behavioral ethics finds that much unethical behavior is not the result of conscious amorality. Rather, cognitive and motivational biases enable and even encourage people who consider themselves to be pro-social to act badly without ever recognizing the shortcomings of their behavior. This Article, delivered as the annual Chris Beecroft, Jr. Memorial Lecture on Dispute Resolution at the UNLV Boyd School of Law, explores how the findings of behavioral ethics can help to better...
February 8, 2021
Research in the field of behavioral ethics finds that much unethical behavior is not the result of conscious amorality. Rather, cognitive and motivational biases enable and even encourage people who consider themselves to be pro-social to act badly without ever recognizing the shortcomings of their behavior. This Article, delivered as the annual Chris Beecroft, Jr. Memorial Lecture on Dispute Resolution at the UNLV Boyd School of Law, explores how the findings of behavioral ethics can help to better...
IRS says Prince’s estate undervalued by 50%, triggering another dispute in settlement
February 7, 2021
According to the IRS, executors of Prince's estate undervalued its value by 50%, which equals about $80 million. The miscalculation has lead to another dispute that could prolong the probate proceedings even further. The IRS has determined that Prince's estate is worth $163.2 million even though the valuation submitted by Comerica Bank & Trust claimed the value was $82.3 million. The IRS claims that Prince's estate owes another $32.4 million in Federal taxes, which is around double...
February 7, 2021
According to the IRS, executors of Prince's estate undervalued its value by 50%, which equals about $80 million. The miscalculation has lead to another dispute that could prolong the probate proceedings even further. The IRS has determined that Prince's estate is worth $163.2 million even though the valuation submitted by Comerica Bank & Trust claimed the value was $82.3 million. The IRS claims that Prince's estate owes another $32.4 million in Federal taxes, which is around double...
Mismatches Between Mediation Teaching and Practice: A First Community Conversation
February 5, 2021
In this article, Ebner and Johnsen discuss mismatches between how mediation is taught, and how it is practiced. For example, many mediation teachers teach a facilitative model, whereas much of mediation practice is evaluative. Some of these mismatches hint at a disconnect between academia and practice; others, however, are intentional and values-based.
February 5, 2021
In this article, Ebner and Johnsen discuss mismatches between how mediation is taught, and how it is practiced. For example, many mediation teachers teach a facilitative model, whereas much of mediation practice is evaluative. Some of these mismatches hint at a disconnect between academia and practice; others, however, are intentional and values-based.
Artificial Intelligence and Technology in Teaching Negotiation
February 4, 2021
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), affective computing, and big‐data techniques are improving the ways that humans negotiate and learn to negotiate. These technologies, long deployed in industry and academic research, are now being adopted for educational use. We describe several systems that help human negotiators evaluate and learn from role‐play simulations as well as applications that help human instructors teach negotiators at the individual, team, and organizational levels....
February 4, 2021
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), affective computing, and big‐data techniques are improving the ways that humans negotiate and learn to negotiate. These technologies, long deployed in industry and academic research, are now being adopted for educational use. We describe several systems that help human negotiators evaluate and learn from role‐play simulations as well as applications that help human instructors teach negotiators at the individual, team, and organizational levels....
Lexis+ Gets Litigation Analytics for Data-Based Insights on Courts, Judges and Counsel
February 3, 2021
LexisNexis has enhanced its Lexis+ premium legal research platform with the addition of litigation analytics, which provide data-driven insights into judges, courts, attorneys and law firms, in both federal and state courts. Litigation Analytics now becomes the fourth pillar of Lexis+, bringing sophisticated analytics to all users of the Lexis+ platform and incorporating it within the legal research and Practical Guidance workflows. This new component of Lexis+ is based on the litigation...
February 3, 2021
LexisNexis has enhanced its Lexis+ premium legal research platform with the addition of litigation analytics, which provide data-driven insights into judges, courts, attorneys and law firms, in both federal and state courts. Litigation Analytics now becomes the fourth pillar of Lexis+, bringing sophisticated analytics to all users of the Lexis+ platform and incorporating it within the legal research and Practical Guidance workflows. This new component of Lexis+ is based on the litigation...
The Vanishing Jury Trial and Other Important Lessons for Mediators
February 2, 2021
As a nascent profession, mediators have made great strides toward redefining how civil litigants in particular approach conflict resolution, while simultaneously witnessing the decline of the traditional jury trial. At the end of last year, amidst the turmoil and upset of the pandemic and national election, a law review article quietly appeared in the Louisiana Law Review entitled “Reasons for the Disappearing Jury Trial: Perspectives From Attorneys and Judges.” In this survey of almost 1500...
February 2, 2021
As a nascent profession, mediators have made great strides toward redefining how civil litigants in particular approach conflict resolution, while simultaneously witnessing the decline of the traditional jury trial. At the end of last year, amidst the turmoil and upset of the pandemic and national election, a law review article quietly appeared in the Louisiana Law Review entitled “Reasons for the Disappearing Jury Trial: Perspectives From Attorneys and Judges.” In this survey of almost 1500...
A Negotiation Innovation: An intelligent negotiation assistant
February 1, 2021
In Mediate.com’s recent series “Seven Keys To Unlock Mediation’s Golden Age” Michael McIlwrath, a Vice President of international energy technology group Baker Hughes Company, urged us to work together to “Develop a Negotiation Index”. By “index”, he did not mean a list or bibliography. Rather: a universally accessible reference of negotiation techniques and situations that classifies empirical evidence that may be more effective in given situations. Negotiators tend to adopt...
February 1, 2021
In Mediate.com’s recent series “Seven Keys To Unlock Mediation’s Golden Age” Michael McIlwrath, a Vice President of international energy technology group Baker Hughes Company, urged us to work together to “Develop a Negotiation Index”. By “index”, he did not mean a list or bibliography. Rather: a universally accessible reference of negotiation techniques and situations that classifies empirical evidence that may be more effective in given situations. Negotiators tend to adopt...
Designing Ethical Online Dispute Resolution Systems: The Rise of the Fourth Party
January 31, 2021
As the pandemic forces public and private institutions to move online, many court and business leaders are looking to the field of online dispute resolution (ODR) for best practices and lessons learned. Developed over the last twenty years, largely in response to the growth of e‐commerce, the ODR field has generated a deep well of theory and practice while also identifying potential ethical dilemmas and risks. The application of technology, the “fourth party,” plays an increasingly integral...
January 31, 2021
As the pandemic forces public and private institutions to move online, many court and business leaders are looking to the field of online dispute resolution (ODR) for best practices and lessons learned. Developed over the last twenty years, largely in response to the growth of e‐commerce, the ODR field has generated a deep well of theory and practice while also identifying potential ethical dilemmas and risks. The application of technology, the “fourth party,” plays an increasingly integral...
