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Billionaire Backs Personal Injury Lawsuit Funding Firm
July 15, 2018
The billionaire George Soros has found a new way to make money from personal injury lawsuits. Soros Fund Management is pushing into a branch of litigation finance that few hedge funds have entered. His family office is bankrolling a company that’s creating investment portfolios out of lawsuits, according to a May regulatory filing. The development is the latest twist on the litigation funding market, which has drawn criticism for monetizing and encouraging the lawsuit culture...
July 15, 2018
The billionaire George Soros has found a new way to make money from personal injury lawsuits. Soros Fund Management is pushing into a branch of litigation finance that few hedge funds have entered. His family office is bankrolling a company that’s creating investment portfolios out of lawsuits, according to a May regulatory filing. The development is the latest twist on the litigation funding market, which has drawn criticism for monetizing and encouraging the lawsuit culture...
Fastcase Says Its New ‘Analytics Workbench’ Will Allow Build-Your-Own Litigation Analytics
July 15, 2018
Docket Alarm, the docket tracking and analytics platform acquired last Januaryby legal research company Fastcase, says it has released a new tool, the Analytics Workbench, that will allow legal professionals to build their own bespoke litigation analytics across any court, practice area or litigation event. Generally, legal analytics products tend to focus on specific courts or specific practice areas. For example, Lex Machina, one of the leading providers of legal analytics, launched with...
July 15, 2018
Docket Alarm, the docket tracking and analytics platform acquired last Januaryby legal research company Fastcase, says it has released a new tool, the Analytics Workbench, that will allow legal professionals to build their own bespoke litigation analytics across any court, practice area or litigation event. Generally, legal analytics products tend to focus on specific courts or specific practice areas. For example, Lex Machina, one of the leading providers of legal analytics, launched with...
BLS Reports Legal Sector Added 4,800 Jobs in June
July 14, 2018
The Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly report released yesterday (Friday) shows that the legal sector got a significant bump in June by adding 4,800 jobs. The BLS also revised (as it often does after more data comes in) the job report for May which had originally shown a net loss of 200 jobs but now reflects a gain of 300. The monthly BLS legal sector job reports include multiple job categories within the legal services industry like paralegal and legal secretary in addition to lawyers. You can check...
July 14, 2018
The Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly report released yesterday (Friday) shows that the legal sector got a significant bump in June by adding 4,800 jobs. The BLS also revised (as it often does after more data comes in) the job report for May which had originally shown a net loss of 200 jobs but now reflects a gain of 300. The monthly BLS legal sector job reports include multiple job categories within the legal services industry like paralegal and legal secretary in addition to lawyers. You can check...
Avvo Legal Services To Be Shut Down
July 14, 2018
Legal directory Avvo is shutting down its controversial Avvo Legal Services, a service that provides fixed-fee, limited-scope legal services through a network of attorneys. Internet Brands, the company that acquired Avvo last January, has decided that the service does not align with its business and focus, according to a letter sent by B. Lynn Walsh, Internet Brands’ executive vice president and general counsel, to the North Carolina State Bar last month. At Internet Brands, we are focused...
July 14, 2018
Legal directory Avvo is shutting down its controversial Avvo Legal Services, a service that provides fixed-fee, limited-scope legal services through a network of attorneys. Internet Brands, the company that acquired Avvo last January, has decided that the service does not align with its business and focus, according to a letter sent by B. Lynn Walsh, Internet Brands’ executive vice president and general counsel, to the North Carolina State Bar last month. At Internet Brands, we are focused...
Do Judges Need to Be Human? The Implications of Technology for Responsive Judging
July 13, 2018
Judicial responsiveness requires judges to act from the perspective of conscious legal rationality and also with intuition, empathy and compassion. To what extent will the judicial role change in terms of responsiveness as many aspects of human activity, including aspects of the work of lawyers and judges, are not only augmented, but even taken over entirely by replacement technologies? Such technologies are already reshaping the way the legal profession operates, with implications for judges by virtue...
July 13, 2018
Judicial responsiveness requires judges to act from the perspective of conscious legal rationality and also with intuition, empathy and compassion. To what extent will the judicial role change in terms of responsiveness as many aspects of human activity, including aspects of the work of lawyers and judges, are not only augmented, but even taken over entirely by replacement technologies? Such technologies are already reshaping the way the legal profession operates, with implications for judges by virtue...
Mediation Settlement Enforcement Protocol Approved
July 13, 2018
Deborah Masucci, Chair of the International Mediation Institute, advises: “Yesterday [25 June 2018],during the 51st Session...
July 13, 2018
Deborah Masucci, Chair of the International Mediation Institute, advises: “Yesterday [25 June 2018],during the 51st Session...
New Technology in Law Firms
July 12, 2018
Thank you for participating in this technology survey, conducted by The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal and Legaltech News on behalf of HSBC. The survey contains questions about law firms investing in and adopting new technology. It's designed to be fast and easy to complete, taking approximately 6 minutes of your time. Please rest assured, your answers will be held in strict confidence and will be used only to help us assess the current state of the industry,...
July 12, 2018
Thank you for participating in this technology survey, conducted by The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal and Legaltech News on behalf of HSBC. The survey contains questions about law firms investing in and adopting new technology. It's designed to be fast and easy to complete, taking approximately 6 minutes of your time. Please rest assured, your answers will be held in strict confidence and will be used only to help us assess the current state of the industry,...
SCOTX Will Not Consider Whether Arbitrator Exceeded Authority in Workplace Discrimination Case
July 12, 2018
The Supreme Court of Texas has declined to consider whether an arbitrator exceeded his authority in a workplace discrimination dispute. In Methodist Healthcare System, Ltd., LLP v. Friesenhahn, No. 17-0955, a Texas woman, Friesenhahn, was awarded almost $384,000 in damages and legal fees for discrimination following arbitration with her former employer, Methodist Healthcare Systems. After a trial court confirmed the award, the hospital appealed the case to the Fourth District...
July 12, 2018
The Supreme Court of Texas has declined to consider whether an arbitrator exceeded his authority in a workplace discrimination dispute. In Methodist Healthcare System, Ltd., LLP v. Friesenhahn, No. 17-0955, a Texas woman, Friesenhahn, was awarded almost $384,000 in damages and legal fees for discrimination following arbitration with her former employer, Methodist Healthcare Systems. After a trial court confirmed the award, the hospital appealed the case to the Fourth District...
SCOTUS to Consider Delegation of “Wholly Groundless” Arbitrability Claims
July 12, 2018
The Supreme Court of the United States has granted certiorari in another arbitration case. In Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer and White Sales, Inc., No. 17-1272, a dental equipment distributor, Archer, filed a lawsuit against a dental equipment manufacturer and distributor along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries alleging the companies committed federal and state antitrust violations. The case was referred to a magistrate judge and the defendants filed a motion to compel arbitration...
July 12, 2018
The Supreme Court of the United States has granted certiorari in another arbitration case. In Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer and White Sales, Inc., No. 17-1272, a dental equipment distributor, Archer, filed a lawsuit against a dental equipment manufacturer and distributor along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries alleging the companies committed federal and state antitrust violations. The case was referred to a magistrate judge and the defendants filed a motion to compel arbitration...
‘Hurry Up and Get a Divorce’? For the Rich, There’s an Incentive
July 11, 2018
“I have never wanted to counsel people, hurry up and get a divorce,” said Fern Frolin, a divorce lawyer at Mirick O’Connell in Boston, whose clients often have high incomes. “I always want to say, ‘Take your time, think if this is the right thing for you.’ But in this particular instance, we could be talking about 15 to 20 years of support, and shifting the tax burden for the last years of a person’s working life.” Under the current system, people paying alimony...
July 11, 2018
“I have never wanted to counsel people, hurry up and get a divorce,” said Fern Frolin, a divorce lawyer at Mirick O’Connell in Boston, whose clients often have high incomes. “I always want to say, ‘Take your time, think if this is the right thing for you.’ But in this particular instance, we could be talking about 15 to 20 years of support, and shifting the tax burden for the last years of a person’s working life.” Under the current system, people paying alimony...
