Blog Archives
Trial and Error: Legislating ADR for Medical Malpractice Reform
October 23, 2017
Lydia R. Nussbaum, Associate Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and Associate Professorof Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law, has published “Trial and Error: Legislating ADR for Medical Malpractice Reform,” Maryland Law Review, Vol. 76, No. 2, 2017. In her scholarly paper, Professor Nussbaum critically examines the State of Oregon’s recently established Resolution of Adverse Health Care Incidents Act. Here is the abstract: The...
October 23, 2017
Lydia R. Nussbaum, Associate Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and Associate Professorof Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law, has published “Trial and Error: Legislating ADR for Medical Malpractice Reform,” Maryland Law Review, Vol. 76, No. 2, 2017. In her scholarly paper, Professor Nussbaum critically examines the State of Oregon’s recently established Resolution of Adverse Health Care Incidents Act. Here is the abstract: The...
Conversations left open-ended don’t rise to the level of an offer
October 23, 2017
The case out of New Jersey, Kristine Deer, Inc. v. Booth, No. C-29-16 (behind paywall), involved a luxury active wear company, K-DEER, for which the defendant, Booth, worked. Booth had several conversations over the course of her employment with K-DEER's sole shareholder, Kristine Deer, about Booth receiving possible equity interest in the company. However, every one of those conversations was fairly vague. Deer seemed to always finish the conversations with some kind of demurral: that she had to "think...
October 23, 2017
The case out of New Jersey, Kristine Deer, Inc. v. Booth, No. C-29-16 (behind paywall), involved a luxury active wear company, K-DEER, for which the defendant, Booth, worked. Booth had several conversations over the course of her employment with K-DEER's sole shareholder, Kristine Deer, about Booth receiving possible equity interest in the company. However, every one of those conversations was fairly vague. Deer seemed to always finish the conversations with some kind of demurral: that she had to "think...
Marriage Privilege
October 22, 2017
From The New York Times: Marriage, which used to be the default way to form a family in the United States, regardless of income or education, has become yet another part of American life reserved for those who are most privileged. Fewer Americans are marrying over all, and whether they do so is more tied to socioeconomic status than ever before. In recent years, marriage has sharply declined among people without college degrees, while staying steady among college graduates with higher incomes. Read...
October 22, 2017
From The New York Times: Marriage, which used to be the default way to form a family in the United States, regardless of income or education, has become yet another part of American life reserved for those who are most privileged. Fewer Americans are marrying over all, and whether they do so is more tied to socioeconomic status than ever before. In recent years, marriage has sharply declined among people without college degrees, while staying steady among college graduates with higher incomes. Read...
No, That Robot Will Not Steal Your Job
October 22, 2017
The recovery from the crisis of 2008 has been one of the weakest on record, but never in postwar history has so little growth created so many jobs. The unemployment rate in the developed world is down to 5.5 percent and approaching a 40-year low. This flies in the face of all the dire warnings about a “jobless future.” The pessimist’s basic mistake is to focus too much on what is lost to competition and technology, and too little on what is gained. Over the past 25 years, as McKinsey...
October 22, 2017
The recovery from the crisis of 2008 has been one of the weakest on record, but never in postwar history has so little growth created so many jobs. The unemployment rate in the developed world is down to 5.5 percent and approaching a 40-year low. This flies in the face of all the dire warnings about a “jobless future.” The pessimist’s basic mistake is to focus too much on what is lost to competition and technology, and too little on what is gained. Over the past 25 years, as McKinsey...
More than 70% of US fears robots taking over our lives, survey finds
October 21, 2017
Silicon Valley celebrates artificial intelligence and robotics as fields that have the power to improve people’s lives, through inventions like driverless cars and robot carers for the elderly. That message isn’t getting through to the rest of the country, where more than 70% of Americans express wariness or concern about a world where machines perform many of the tasks done by humans, according to Pew Research. A slim majority of Americans (54%) express more worry than enthusiasm...
October 21, 2017
Silicon Valley celebrates artificial intelligence and robotics as fields that have the power to improve people’s lives, through inventions like driverless cars and robot carers for the elderly. That message isn’t getting through to the rest of the country, where more than 70% of Americans express wariness or concern about a world where machines perform many of the tasks done by humans, according to Pew Research. A slim majority of Americans (54%) express more worry than enthusiasm...
Saunas May Be Good for Blood Pressure
October 21, 2017
A Finnish study suggests that regular sauna visits can reduce the risk for high blood pressure. Compared to those who reported one sauna session a week or less, those who took two to three sessions were 24 percent less likely to have hypertension, and four to seven visits a week reduced the risk by 46 percent. The study controlled for body mass index, alcohol consumption, resting heart rate, smoking, family history of hypertension and other variables.
October 21, 2017
A Finnish study suggests that regular sauna visits can reduce the risk for high blood pressure. Compared to those who reported one sauna session a week or less, those who took two to three sessions were 24 percent less likely to have hypertension, and four to seven visits a week reduced the risk by 46 percent. The study controlled for body mass index, alcohol consumption, resting heart rate, smoking, family history of hypertension and other variables.
Federal Circuit grants mandamus relief about EDTEX venue
October 20, 2017
The four-part venue test adopted by the Eastern District of Texas after the Heartland opinion was short-lived, as the Federal Circuit granted mandamus relief in In re Cray, noting: “[O]ur analysis of the case law and statute reveal three general requirements relevant to the inquiry: (1) there must be a physical place in the district; (2) it must be a regular and established place of business; and (3) it must be the place of the defendant.”
October 20, 2017
The four-part venue test adopted by the Eastern District of Texas after the Heartland opinion was short-lived, as the Federal Circuit granted mandamus relief in In re Cray, noting: “[O]ur analysis of the case law and statute reveal three general requirements relevant to the inquiry: (1) there must be a physical place in the district; (2) it must be a regular and established place of business; and (3) it must be the place of the defendant.”
California Outlaws Forced Arbitration Clauses by Banks
October 20, 2017
On Sept. 12, 2017, Senate Bill 33 was approved by the California Senate and now awaits Governor Brown’s approval before becoming law. The legislation was designed after the Wells Fargo scandal to block legal the legal tactic of keeping disputes over unauthorized bank accounts out of public court proceedings an favor of private arbitration. Said the law’s author, Sen. Dodd (D-Napa): “The idea that consumers can be blocked from our public courts when their bank commits fraud and identity...
October 20, 2017
On Sept. 12, 2017, Senate Bill 33 was approved by the California Senate and now awaits Governor Brown’s approval before becoming law. The legislation was designed after the Wells Fargo scandal to block legal the legal tactic of keeping disputes over unauthorized bank accounts out of public court proceedings an favor of private arbitration. Said the law’s author, Sen. Dodd (D-Napa): “The idea that consumers can be blocked from our public courts when their bank commits fraud and identity...
PwC Launches U.S. Law Firm, Seeks Market Share From BigLaw, Especially In Tax
October 19, 2017
New York Times DealBook: PwC, the Accounting Giant, Will Open a Law Firm in the U.S., by Elizabeth Olson: Law firms already elbowing one another for multinational clients will soon have a new competitor: The Big Four accounting firm PwC, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, plans to open a law firm in Washington, D.C., next week. The law firm, ILC Legal, will advise clients on international matters such as corporate restructuring. Its lawyers will act as special legal consultants, rather...
October 19, 2017
New York Times DealBook: PwC, the Accounting Giant, Will Open a Law Firm in the U.S., by Elizabeth Olson: Law firms already elbowing one another for multinational clients will soon have a new competitor: The Big Four accounting firm PwC, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, plans to open a law firm in Washington, D.C., next week. The law firm, ILC Legal, will advise clients on international matters such as corporate restructuring. Its lawyers will act as special legal consultants, rather...
Uber Arbitration Clause Win
October 19, 2017
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently reversed a district court’s decision to deny Uber’s move to compel arbitration in a contract with one of its passengers, Spencer Meyers. The district court had found that Meyer did not have reasonably conspicuous notice of Uber’s terms of service (which contained the arbitration clause) when he registered a user, that Meyer did not unambiguously assent to the terms of service, and that Meyer was not bound by the mandatory arbitration...
October 19, 2017
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently reversed a district court’s decision to deny Uber’s move to compel arbitration in a contract with one of its passengers, Spencer Meyers. The district court had found that Meyer did not have reasonably conspicuous notice of Uber’s terms of service (which contained the arbitration clause) when he registered a user, that Meyer did not unambiguously assent to the terms of service, and that Meyer was not bound by the mandatory arbitration...
