Blog Archives
Calming Power of Reminiscing About Happy Times
May 28, 2017
Your brain needs help if it’s to quickly regain control. And, according to a new study published in Nature Human Behaviour, you can provide it by thinking back over good times. The idea that thinking about positive past events, including achievements or successes, can help to improve ongoing mood and resilience to stress is certainly not new. But showing that simply recalling happy memories can combat acute stress at a physical level is important, since there’s plenty of research finding that...
May 28, 2017
Your brain needs help if it’s to quickly regain control. And, according to a new study published in Nature Human Behaviour, you can provide it by thinking back over good times. The idea that thinking about positive past events, including achievements or successes, can help to improve ongoing mood and resilience to stress is certainly not new. But showing that simply recalling happy memories can combat acute stress at a physical level is important, since there’s plenty of research finding that...
How To Get Happier Now With No Effort
May 28, 2017
It turns out that very light activity is surprisingly effective in raising people’s level of well-being. Mr Gregory Panza, the study’s first author, said: “…simply going from doing no physical activity to performing some physical activity can improve their subjective well-being. What is even more promising for the physically inactive person is that they do not need to exercise vigorously to see these improvements. Instead, our results indicate you will get the best ‘bang for your...
May 28, 2017
It turns out that very light activity is surprisingly effective in raising people’s level of well-being. Mr Gregory Panza, the study’s first author, said: “…simply going from doing no physical activity to performing some physical activity can improve their subjective well-being. What is even more promising for the physically inactive person is that they do not need to exercise vigorously to see these improvements. Instead, our results indicate you will get the best ‘bang for your...
Building a Better Prenup
May 28, 2017
Prenuptial agreements often carry a certain stigma and several misconceptions, but the truth is good prenups are necessary for wealthy individuals and those that have been divorced before. Prenups are like risk tolerance tools, guarding against any potential eventuality and preventing estate battles if a spouse dies during a marriage. Specifically, in the event of a spouse’s death, prenups can help preserve inheritances of children, especially when the other spouse remarries. Following the correct...
May 28, 2017
Prenuptial agreements often carry a certain stigma and several misconceptions, but the truth is good prenups are necessary for wealthy individuals and those that have been divorced before. Prenups are like risk tolerance tools, guarding against any potential eventuality and preventing estate battles if a spouse dies during a marriage. Specifically, in the event of a spouse’s death, prenups can help preserve inheritances of children, especially when the other spouse remarries. Following the correct...
Google Getting Smarter About Visual Search
May 27, 2017
Possibly the most useful for day-to-day life is Google Lens, which is effectively the existing “point your camera and click for a relevant search” technology, but working almost instantaneously and with less need to use menus and text input to say what you want to know. According to Google, examples would include pointing the camera at a foreign menu for instant translation (without the need to install or fire up the Translate app) or pointing it at a flower for an instant species identification. The...
May 27, 2017
Possibly the most useful for day-to-day life is Google Lens, which is effectively the existing “point your camera and click for a relevant search” technology, but working almost instantaneously and with less need to use menus and text input to say what you want to know. According to Google, examples would include pointing the camera at a foreign menu for instant translation (without the need to install or fire up the Translate app) or pointing it at a flower for an instant species identification. The...
The Promises and Limitations of Big Data
May 27, 2017
Although many people claim we have entered the era of big data, research firms tell us that most collected information is never used. It sits uncleaned, unanalyzed, unused in databases. But when data analytics is used successfully, organizations reap the benefits. Financial services firms are using digital information about their customers to offer them a whole new range of customized products under the category of fintech. Cities are using data from Google Street View to guide economic development....
May 27, 2017
Although many people claim we have entered the era of big data, research firms tell us that most collected information is never used. It sits uncleaned, unanalyzed, unused in databases. But when data analytics is used successfully, organizations reap the benefits. Financial services firms are using digital information about their customers to offer them a whole new range of customized products under the category of fintech. Cities are using data from Google Street View to guide economic development....
IBM Says New Watson Tool Could Dramatically Reduce Outside Counsel Spend
May 27, 2017
A new tool using International Business Machines Corp.'s Watson, notorious for defeating its human competitors on "Jeopardy" in 2011, is hard at work for in-house legal departments with the goal of significantly reducing outside counsel spend. So far, use of "Outside Counsel Insights," or OCI, has been limited to legal departments in the financial services industry, according to Brian Kuhn, co-founder and leader of IBM Watson Legal. But with the potential to save as much as 30 percent on annual...
May 27, 2017
A new tool using International Business Machines Corp.'s Watson, notorious for defeating its human competitors on "Jeopardy" in 2011, is hard at work for in-house legal departments with the goal of significantly reducing outside counsel spend. So far, use of "Outside Counsel Insights," or OCI, has been limited to legal departments in the financial services industry, according to Brian Kuhn, co-founder and leader of IBM Watson Legal. But with the potential to save as much as 30 percent on annual...
Can Practicing Mindfulness Improve Lawyer Decision-Making, Ethics, and Leadership?
May 26, 2017
To practice mindfulness is to pay attention in a curious, deliberate, kind, and nonjudgmental way to life as it unfolds each moment. Mindfulness is currently very fashionable and has been so for sometime now in American business, education, media, medicine, popular culture, and sports. Many business, legal, and medical organizations are considering how mindfulness can help alleviate stress, improve productivity, reduce mistakes, and resolve conflicts. Many people from Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and Wall...
May 26, 2017
To practice mindfulness is to pay attention in a curious, deliberate, kind, and nonjudgmental way to life as it unfolds each moment. Mindfulness is currently very fashionable and has been so for sometime now in American business, education, media, medicine, popular culture, and sports. Many business, legal, and medical organizations are considering how mindfulness can help alleviate stress, improve productivity, reduce mistakes, and resolve conflicts. Many people from Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and Wall...
Clear Statement Rules and the Integrity of Labor Arbitration
May 26, 2017
Professor Stephen F. Ross, Lewis H. Vovakis Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Director of the Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy, and Research at Penn State Law, and Roy Eisnehardt, Lecturer in Sports Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, have published “Clear Statement Rules and the Integrity of Labor Arbitration,” Penn State Law Research Paper No. 6-2017; Arbitration Law Review, Forthcoming. In their journal article, the authors discuss arbitration of employment-related...
May 26, 2017
Professor Stephen F. Ross, Lewis H. Vovakis Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Director of the Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy, and Research at Penn State Law, and Roy Eisnehardt, Lecturer in Sports Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, have published “Clear Statement Rules and the Integrity of Labor Arbitration,” Penn State Law Research Paper No. 6-2017; Arbitration Law Review, Forthcoming. In their journal article, the authors discuss arbitration of employment-related...
Beaumont COA Orders ExxonMobil to Arbitrate Casualty Claims Related to Refinery Fire
May 26, 2017
The Ninth District Court of Appeals in Beaumont has ordered ExxonMobil to arbitrate a dispute with an insurance company. In Lexington Insurance Co. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., et al., No. 09-16-00357-CV, (Tex. App. – Beaumont, April 27, 2017), a fire occurred at an ExxonMobil oil refinery in 2013. Unfortunately, several workers were hurt and two others were killed as a result. Three of the injured workers were third-party contractors who were employed by Brock Services. Prior to the fire, ExxonMobil...
May 26, 2017
The Ninth District Court of Appeals in Beaumont has ordered ExxonMobil to arbitrate a dispute with an insurance company. In Lexington Insurance Co. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., et al., No. 09-16-00357-CV, (Tex. App. – Beaumont, April 27, 2017), a fire occurred at an ExxonMobil oil refinery in 2013. Unfortunately, several workers were hurt and two others were killed as a result. Three of the injured workers were third-party contractors who were employed by Brock Services. Prior to the fire, ExxonMobil...
Article on Firearm Transfers for Estate Planning Lawyers
May 25, 2017
Benjamin Dean recently published an Article entitled, Basics of Firearm Transfers for Estate and Probate Lawyers, 51 Real Prop. Tr. & Est. L.J. 505 (2017). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: Estate planners and probate lawyers should be aware of the issues concerning firearms in estates and the potential criminal penalties associated with failure to comply with the appropriate transfer requirements. With firearm ownership in the United States at an all-time high, attorneys must be familiar...
May 25, 2017
Benjamin Dean recently published an Article entitled, Basics of Firearm Transfers for Estate and Probate Lawyers, 51 Real Prop. Tr. & Est. L.J. 505 (2017). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: Estate planners and probate lawyers should be aware of the issues concerning firearms in estates and the potential criminal penalties associated with failure to comply with the appropriate transfer requirements. With firearm ownership in the United States at an all-time high, attorneys must be familiar...
