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A Summary of the First Conference on Robot Learning
December 23, 2017
Whether in the form of autonomous vehicles, home assistants or disaster rescue units, robotic systems of the future will need to be able to operate safely and effectively in human-centric environments. In contrast to to their industrial counterparts, they will require a very high level of perceptual awareness of the world around them, and to adapt to continuous changes in both their goals and their environment. Machine learning is a natural answer to both the problems of perception and generalization...
December 23, 2017
Whether in the form of autonomous vehicles, home assistants or disaster rescue units, robotic systems of the future will need to be able to operate safely and effectively in human-centric environments. In contrast to to their industrial counterparts, they will require a very high level of perceptual awareness of the world around them, and to adapt to continuous changes in both their goals and their environment. Machine learning is a natural answer to both the problems of perception and generalization...
Family Business Succession: The Joys and Challenges
December 22, 2017
Family business succession can be joyous when there is a succession plan. But when there’s no plan in place, it can be anything but joyous. It is a familiar scenario for a family. Husband and wife build a family business, take pride in its growth and achievements while it provides for the family and then some. The goal is to then pass it on as a legacy to the children, so they don’t have to start from scratch. And then, when we are ready to scale back or retire, our children will carry...
December 22, 2017
Family business succession can be joyous when there is a succession plan. But when there’s no plan in place, it can be anything but joyous. It is a familiar scenario for a family. Husband and wife build a family business, take pride in its growth and achievements while it provides for the family and then some. The goal is to then pass it on as a legacy to the children, so they don’t have to start from scratch. And then, when we are ready to scale back or retire, our children will carry...
The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Corporate Finance and Beyond
December 22, 2017
OVERVIEW — Corporate finance researchers who analyze patent data are at risk of making highly predictable errors. The problem...
December 22, 2017
OVERVIEW — Corporate finance researchers who analyze patent data are at risk of making highly predictable errors. The problem...
You Must Actually Ask For It!
December 21, 2017
Many mediations end in settlement at which point the parties draft a settlement agreement. California law provides a summary procedure by which the parties can enforce the settlement agreement if the spirit of compromise does not continue after the mediation. Code of Civil Procedure Section 664.6 provides: 664.6. If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside the presence of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof,...
December 21, 2017
Many mediations end in settlement at which point the parties draft a settlement agreement. California law provides a summary procedure by which the parties can enforce the settlement agreement if the spirit of compromise does not continue after the mediation. Code of Civil Procedure Section 664.6 provides: 664.6. If parties to pending litigation stipulate, in a writing signed by the parties outside the presence of the court or orally before the court, for settlement of the case, or part thereof,...
Mandatory Domestic Violence Curriculum Tool Kit for Child Custody Mediators
December 21, 2017
Good Afternoon DRC Mediators, We are sending this reminder that the additional training required by SB-539 for family mediators is offered at no charge by the Texas Council on Family Violence until December 31, 2017. To get started, Google, “Texas Council on Family Violence” or click http://tcfv.org/trainings-conferences/ When you get to the website, click on “Trainings and Conferences” When that window opens, scroll down past the calendar for the month of December. Click on the button...
December 21, 2017
Good Afternoon DRC Mediators, We are sending this reminder that the additional training required by SB-539 for family mediators is offered at no charge by the Texas Council on Family Violence until December 31, 2017. To get started, Google, “Texas Council on Family Violence” or click http://tcfv.org/trainings-conferences/ When you get to the website, click on “Trainings and Conferences” When that window opens, scroll down past the calendar for the month of December. Click on the button...
New Report on Legal Industry Outlook Says “AI” Will Create “Supercharged” Lawyers
December 20, 2017
For several years legal industry commentators like Richard Susskind have been predicting that technology in the form of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") will wind up replacing some lawyers when it comes to many of the routine tasks they now perform thereby further depressing the job market for new graduates. So far, the reality has not been as dire as the predictions. A new report by legal consulting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa says that, at least for the near term, they don't anticipate...
December 20, 2017
For several years legal industry commentators like Richard Susskind have been predicting that technology in the form of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") will wind up replacing some lawyers when it comes to many of the routine tasks they now perform thereby further depressing the job market for new graduates. So far, the reality has not been as dire as the predictions. A new report by legal consulting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa says that, at least for the near term, they don't anticipate...
AI to Drive Job Growth by 2020: Gartner
December 20, 2017
Enterprise technology powered by artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it eliminates within the next three years, accounting for two million net new jobs by 2025, according to IT industry research firm Gartner Inc. It expects “millions” of jobs to be displaced by AI over the next few years, with positions in the manufacturing sector hit hardest, as more companies deploy AI-enabled technologies to handle routine tasks. But within three years those losses will reverse to gains,...
December 20, 2017
Enterprise technology powered by artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it eliminates within the next three years, accounting for two million net new jobs by 2025, according to IT industry research firm Gartner Inc. It expects “millions” of jobs to be displaced by AI over the next few years, with positions in the manufacturing sector hit hardest, as more companies deploy AI-enabled technologies to handle routine tasks. But within three years those losses will reverse to gains,...
Absenteeism Rises When Popular Medications Leave the Market
December 19, 2017
The introduction and withdrawal of Vioxx, which was commonly prescribed for conditions like arthritis, created a natural laboratory for economists Meghan Skira of the Terry College and Aline Bütikofer of the Norwegian School of Economics to study its effects on the labor supply of individuals with joint pain. They used administrative data from Norway on sickness absence and disability pension receipt for the analysis. “We found that when Vioxx entered the market, it decreased quarterly sickness...
December 19, 2017
The introduction and withdrawal of Vioxx, which was commonly prescribed for conditions like arthritis, created a natural laboratory for economists Meghan Skira of the Terry College and Aline Bütikofer of the Norwegian School of Economics to study its effects on the labor supply of individuals with joint pain. They used administrative data from Norway on sickness absence and disability pension receipt for the analysis. “We found that when Vioxx entered the market, it decreased quarterly sickness...
Metrics on Arbitration Efficiency
December 19, 2017
The current issue of New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer — really a very good publication of the New York State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section — includes a brief article by Roy Weinstein of the economic research and consulting firm Micronomics. The article summarizes certain findings of a study comparing the length of time to trial and through appeal in U.S. federal courts, to the length of time to issuance of final awards in commercial arbitrations at the American Arbitration...
December 19, 2017
The current issue of New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer — really a very good publication of the New York State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section — includes a brief article by Roy Weinstein of the economic research and consulting firm Micronomics. The article summarizes certain findings of a study comparing the length of time to trial and through appeal in U.S. federal courts, to the length of time to issuance of final awards in commercial arbitrations at the American Arbitration...
The Ten Arbitration Trends of 2017
December 18, 2017
2017 was a big year in arbitration law. We went from a country that seemed on the verge of banning arbitration in most consumer and employee contracts to a country whose federal policy embraces arbitration in nearly every context. From my vantage point, here are the ten top developments in the last twelve months: Regulation Reversal. At the end of 2016, federal agencies were proposing rules to ban arbitration in various settings (student loans, nursing home agreements, consumer financial...
December 18, 2017
2017 was a big year in arbitration law. We went from a country that seemed on the verge of banning arbitration in most consumer and employee contracts to a country whose federal policy embraces arbitration in nearly every context. From my vantage point, here are the ten top developments in the last twelve months: Regulation Reversal. At the end of 2016, federal agencies were proposing rules to ban arbitration in various settings (student loans, nursing home agreements, consumer financial...
