Blog Archives
Justin Kan’s Secretive Legal Startup Debuts As A Different Kind of Law Firm
September 24, 2017
Last April, reports surfaced that Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Justin Kan was looking to raise — and then in June did raise — $10 million for an initial round of funding for a startup that would “revolutionize legal services.” The name of the startup was known, Atrium LTS, but little else, except that it would somehow involve software designed to streamline the work of law firms. Today we get the rest of the story, as Kan’s startup officially starts up. Kan is not a lawyer...
September 24, 2017
Last April, reports surfaced that Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Justin Kan was looking to raise — and then in June did raise — $10 million for an initial round of funding for a startup that would “revolutionize legal services.” The name of the startup was known, Atrium LTS, but little else, except that it would somehow involve software designed to streamline the work of law firms. Today we get the rest of the story, as Kan’s startup officially starts up. Kan is not a lawyer...
Microsoft and Adobe Announce Expanded Partnership
September 23, 2017
Today, Microsoft and Adobe announced new joint offerings to increase workforce productivity and drive more efficient business processes. Microsoft Teams, the new chat-based workspace in Office 365, is now the preferred collaboration service for Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud. Adobe will make Microsoft Azure its preferred cloud platform for Adobe Sign. And Adobe Sign, the e-signature service in Adobe Document Cloud, is now Microsoft’s preferred e-signature solution....
September 23, 2017
Today, Microsoft and Adobe announced new joint offerings to increase workforce productivity and drive more efficient business processes. Microsoft Teams, the new chat-based workspace in Office 365, is now the preferred collaboration service for Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud. Adobe will make Microsoft Azure its preferred cloud platform for Adobe Sign. And Adobe Sign, the e-signature service in Adobe Document Cloud, is now Microsoft’s preferred e-signature solution....
Predicting the future of US News law school rankings with revealed preference rankings?
September 23, 2017
A new entrant has emerged in the law school rankings debate, as Christopher Ryan and Brian Frye recently posted their paper, A Revealed-Preferences Ranking of Law Schools (forthcoming in the Alabama Law Review). The paper presents a ranking of law schools based exclusively on LSAT and undergraduate GPA, on the theory that prospective law students' actual choices about law school are a better way of ranking than the hodge-podge of factors included in the US News rankings. The approach used by US News...
September 23, 2017
A new entrant has emerged in the law school rankings debate, as Christopher Ryan and Brian Frye recently posted their paper, A Revealed-Preferences Ranking of Law Schools (forthcoming in the Alabama Law Review). The paper presents a ranking of law schools based exclusively on LSAT and undergraduate GPA, on the theory that prospective law students' actual choices about law school are a better way of ranking than the hodge-podge of factors included in the US News rankings. The approach used by US News...
No “Contract By Tweet” for Plaintiff Who Pitches Movie Idea via Social Media
September 22, 2017
This is an idea theft case based on the idea behind “Creed” the movie, a spinoff of the famous Rocky movies. Jarrett Alexander alleged that he came up with the idea for Creed, drafted the screenplay, and put together a pitch reel that he initially posted on Vimeo and then on a separate website. He also alleged he circulated the idea and the pitch reel to various industry types, including those associated with the original Rocky movies. He also tried to raise awareness for the idea on social...
September 22, 2017
This is an idea theft case based on the idea behind “Creed” the movie, a spinoff of the famous Rocky movies. Jarrett Alexander alleged that he came up with the idea for Creed, drafted the screenplay, and put together a pitch reel that he initially posted on Vimeo and then on a separate website. He also alleged he circulated the idea and the pitch reel to various industry types, including those associated with the original Rocky movies. He also tried to raise awareness for the idea on social...
Lessons From Two Auto Dealer Arbitrations About Nonsignatories
September 22, 2017
In two recent decisions, the Alabama Supreme Court made clear that if an arbitration clause specifies it only applies to disputes between the two parties who sign the clause, that will be strictly enforced. No third party can enforce the arbitration agreement. In Nissan N. Am. v. Scott, 2017 WL 3446129 (Ala. Aug. 11, 2017), a customer brought suit in court against Nissan and its dealership, after her car (a “Juke” in case you are curious) spontaneously caught fire. The purchase agreement...
September 22, 2017
In two recent decisions, the Alabama Supreme Court made clear that if an arbitration clause specifies it only applies to disputes between the two parties who sign the clause, that will be strictly enforced. No third party can enforce the arbitration agreement. In Nissan N. Am. v. Scott, 2017 WL 3446129 (Ala. Aug. 11, 2017), a customer brought suit in court against Nissan and its dealership, after her car (a “Juke” in case you are curious) spontaneously caught fire. The purchase agreement...
Relational Contracts of Adhesion
September 21, 2017
Not all digital fine print exculpates liability: some exhorts users to perform before the consumer relationship has soured. We promise to choose strong passwords (and hold them private); to behave civilly on social networks; to refrain from streaming shows and sports; and to avoid reverse-engineering code (or, worse, deploying deadly bots). In short: consumers are apparently regulated by digital fine print, though it’s universally assumed we don’t read it, and even if we did, we’ll never be sued...
September 21, 2017
Not all digital fine print exculpates liability: some exhorts users to perform before the consumer relationship has soured. We promise to choose strong passwords (and hold them private); to behave civilly on social networks; to refrain from streaming shows and sports; and to avoid reverse-engineering code (or, worse, deploying deadly bots). In short: consumers are apparently regulated by digital fine print, though it’s universally assumed we don’t read it, and even if we did, we’ll never be sued...
Watford. Chen, & Basile on “The Law of Judicial Precedent,” edited by Garner
September 21, 2017
Paul J. Watford (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), Richard C. Chen (University of Maine School of Law), & Marco Basile have posted Crafting Precedent (Harvard Law Review, Vol. 131, No. 2, 2017 (Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: How does the law of judicial precedent work in practice? That is the question at the heart of The Law of Judicial Precedent, a recent treatise by Bryan Garner and twelve distinguished appellate judges. The treatise sets aside more...
September 21, 2017
Paul J. Watford (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), Richard C. Chen (University of Maine School of Law), & Marco Basile have posted Crafting Precedent (Harvard Law Review, Vol. 131, No. 2, 2017 (Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: How does the law of judicial precedent work in practice? That is the question at the heart of The Law of Judicial Precedent, a recent treatise by Bryan Garner and twelve distinguished appellate judges. The treatise sets aside more...
Micro-Symposium: Richard Posner’s ‘What is Obviously Wrong with the Federal Judiciary
September 20, 2017
The Download of the Week is Micro-Symposium: Richard Posner's 'What is Obviously Wrong with the Federal Judiciary' with contributions by Ross E. Davies (George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School, Faculty; The Green Bag), Timothy Delaune (SUNY Cortland), Swift Edgar (Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz), Jonathan Mermin (Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios), William Baude (University of Chicago - Law School), Stephen E. Sachs (Duke University School of Law), Richard A. Posner...
September 20, 2017
The Download of the Week is Micro-Symposium: Richard Posner's 'What is Obviously Wrong with the Federal Judiciary' with contributions by Ross E. Davies (George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School, Faculty; The Green Bag), Timothy Delaune (SUNY Cortland), Swift Edgar (Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz), Jonathan Mermin (Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios), William Baude (University of Chicago - Law School), Stephen E. Sachs (Duke University School of Law), Richard A. Posner...
Legal Theory Bookworm: “How Judges Think” by Posner
September 20, 2017
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends How Judges Think by Richard Posner. Here is a description: A distinguished and experienced appellate court judge, Richard A. Posner offers in this new book a unique and, to orthodox legal thinkers, a startling perspective on how judges and justices decide cases. When conventional legal materials enable judges to ascertain the true facts of a case and apply clear pre-existing legal rules to them, Posner argues, they do so straightforwardly; that is the domain...
September 20, 2017
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends How Judges Think by Richard Posner. Here is a description: A distinguished and experienced appellate court judge, Richard A. Posner offers in this new book a unique and, to orthodox legal thinkers, a startling perspective on how judges and justices decide cases. When conventional legal materials enable judges to ascertain the true facts of a case and apply clear pre-existing legal rules to them, Posner argues, they do so straightforwardly; that is the domain...
Misconceptions About Nudges
September 19, 2017
Some people believe that nudges are an insult to human agency; that nudges are based on excessive trust in government; that nudges are covert; that nudges are manipulative; that nudges exploit behavioral biases; that nudges depend on a belief that human beings are irrational; and that nudges work only at the margins and cannot accomplish much. These are misconceptions. Nudges always respect, and often promote, human agency; because nudges insist on preserving freedom of choice, they do not put excessive...
September 19, 2017
Some people believe that nudges are an insult to human agency; that nudges are based on excessive trust in government; that nudges are covert; that nudges are manipulative; that nudges exploit behavioral biases; that nudges depend on a belief that human beings are irrational; and that nudges work only at the margins and cannot accomplish much. These are misconceptions. Nudges always respect, and often promote, human agency; because nudges insist on preserving freedom of choice, they do not put excessive...
