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Are Arbitration Agreements With Attorneys Unenforceable? Maine Says Yes (Mostly).
January 31, 2018
While I was busy writing deep thoughts about arbitration at the end of 2017 (see hereand here), courts around the country rudely kept churning out new arbitration opinions. Hmph. So, I have some catching up to do. I start with one that has most captured my attention, Snow v. Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, ___ A.3d ___, 2017 WL 6520900 (Me. Dec. 21, 2017). It finds an arbitration agreement between a law firm and its client unenforceable, because the law firm did not specifically...
January 31, 2018
While I was busy writing deep thoughts about arbitration at the end of 2017 (see hereand here), courts around the country rudely kept churning out new arbitration opinions. Hmph. So, I have some catching up to do. I start with one that has most captured my attention, Snow v. Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, ___ A.3d ___, 2017 WL 6520900 (Me. Dec. 21, 2017). It finds an arbitration agreement between a law firm and its client unenforceable, because the law firm did not specifically...
Hackers Have Stolen About 14% of Big Digital Currencies
January 30, 2018
Digital currencies and the software developed to track them have become attractive targets for cybercriminals while also...
January 30, 2018
Digital currencies and the software developed to track them have become attractive targets for cybercriminals while also...
Un-Vacated: Arbitration Awards Get Whiplash
January 30, 2018
Two cases recently fit in one of my favorite categories: those awards that get “un-vacated.” These cases went through arbitration, had that arbitration award vacated by a district court, only to have the award later resurrected by an appellate court. In today’s edition, the whiplash happens in both state and federal court. In Caffey v. Lees, 2018 WL 327260 (R.I. Jan. 9, 2018), Lees was the winner after bringing a personal injury case in arbitration. He was awarded nearly $200,000....
January 30, 2018
Two cases recently fit in one of my favorite categories: those awards that get “un-vacated.” These cases went through arbitration, had that arbitration award vacated by a district court, only to have the award later resurrected by an appellate court. In today’s edition, the whiplash happens in both state and federal court. In Caffey v. Lees, 2018 WL 327260 (R.I. Jan. 9, 2018), Lees was the winner after bringing a personal injury case in arbitration. He was awarded nearly $200,000....
Bankruptcy Filings Fall 0.7% – Smallest 12-Month Decline Since 2010
January 29, 2018
Bankruptcy filings in the 12-month period ending December 31, 2017, fell just 0.7 percent, compared with bankruptcy cases...
January 29, 2018
Bankruptcy filings in the 12-month period ending December 31, 2017, fell just 0.7 percent, compared with bankruptcy cases...
Circuit Court Decisions: The Vast Majority are Unanimous
January 29, 2018
Federal Circuit Court decisions are overwhelmingly unanimous: The data on the pages below confirm that very few dissenting...
January 29, 2018
Federal Circuit Court decisions are overwhelmingly unanimous: The data on the pages below confirm that very few dissenting...
What Can Machine Learning Do? Workforce Implications
January 28, 2018
Digital computers have transformed work in almost every sector of the economy over the past several decades (1). We are now at the beginning of an even larger and more rapid transformation due to recent advances in machine learning (ML), which is capable of accelerating the pace of automation itself. However, although it is clear that ML is a “general purpose technology,” like the steam engine and electricity, which spawns a plethora of additional innovations and capabilities (2), there is no widely...
January 28, 2018
Digital computers have transformed work in almost every sector of the economy over the past several decades (1). We are now at the beginning of an even larger and more rapid transformation due to recent advances in machine learning (ML), which is capable of accelerating the pace of automation itself. However, although it is clear that ML is a “general purpose technology,” like the steam engine and electricity, which spawns a plethora of additional innovations and capabilities (2), there is no widely...
Towards a Rational Explanation for Anchoring
January 28, 2018
Built upon statistics insights, we illustrate that Bayesian decision theory combined with a non-informative prior may lead to a strictly dominated decision rule, which can be improved by shrinking the decision towards an arbitrary-chosen reference point. By doing so, one incurs a bias but reduces the variance of the decision and decreases the expected loss. This revelation suggests that anchoring may have a rational explanation. The examination of the known features of the anchoring effect provides...
January 28, 2018
Built upon statistics insights, we illustrate that Bayesian decision theory combined with a non-informative prior may lead to a strictly dominated decision rule, which can be improved by shrinking the decision towards an arbitrary-chosen reference point. By doing so, one incurs a bias but reduces the variance of the decision and decreases the expected loss. This revelation suggests that anchoring may have a rational explanation. The examination of the known features of the anchoring effect provides...
EmpowerLegal Launches Litigation Suite, a Powerful Series of Streamable Video Tutorials Which Effectively Prepare Clients for Testimony
January 27, 2018
EmpowerLegal, Inc. launches its powerful Litigation Suite, a series of streamable video tutorials which help litigation attorneys and their clients effectively prepare for major legal events including mediations, depositions and trials. Created and narrated by Alan S. Fanger, an award-winning litigation attorney with 30+ years of experience, EmpowerLegal video tutorials provide realistic, professionally-portrayed depictions of depositions, mediations and trials. The videos demystify intimidating...
January 27, 2018
EmpowerLegal, Inc. launches its powerful Litigation Suite, a series of streamable video tutorials which help litigation attorneys and their clients effectively prepare for major legal events including mediations, depositions and trials. Created and narrated by Alan S. Fanger, an award-winning litigation attorney with 30+ years of experience, EmpowerLegal video tutorials provide realistic, professionally-portrayed depictions of depositions, mediations and trials. The videos demystify intimidating...
Lawyer-Bots Are Shaking Up Jobs
January 27, 2018
Meticulous research, deep study of case law, and intricate argument-building—lawyers have used similar methods to ply their trade for hundreds of years. But they’d better watch out, because artificial intelligence is moving in on the field. As of 2016, there were over 1,300,000 licensed lawyers and 200,000 paralegals in the U.S. Consultancy group McKinsey estimates that 22 percent of a lawyer’s job and 35 percent of a law clerk’s job can be automated, which means that while humanity won’t...
January 27, 2018
Meticulous research, deep study of case law, and intricate argument-building—lawyers have used similar methods to ply their trade for hundreds of years. But they’d better watch out, because artificial intelligence is moving in on the field. As of 2016, there were over 1,300,000 licensed lawyers and 200,000 paralegals in the U.S. Consultancy group McKinsey estimates that 22 percent of a lawyer’s job and 35 percent of a law clerk’s job can be automated, which means that while humanity won’t...
American Family Invests in Advanced Analytics and AI Through Acquisition of Networked Insights
January 26, 2018
With the purchase of Chicago-based data and analytics software company, Networked Insights, American Family Insurance will accelerate its digital transformation, including its use of data, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). The acquisition allows American Family to build on its current advanced analytics capabilities to improve how it serves and meets the needs of customers. American Family already is investing in AI and related technology across the organization – including...
January 26, 2018
With the purchase of Chicago-based data and analytics software company, Networked Insights, American Family Insurance will accelerate its digital transformation, including its use of data, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). The acquisition allows American Family to build on its current advanced analytics capabilities to improve how it serves and meets the needs of customers. American Family already is investing in AI and related technology across the organization – including...
