Blog Archives
Making the Most of the First-Offer Advantage: Pre-Offer Conversation and Negotiation Outcomes
May 2, 2017
Why do some negotiators benefit from making the first offer during negotiations while others do not? This study explores the contents of conversations that take place before negotiators make their first offers in order to learn more about the differences between ultimately successful first offers that benefit from anchoring effects and ultimately unsuccessful ones in which negotiators apparently derive no benefit from making the first offer. In-depth qualitative analyses of the conversations that...
May 2, 2017
Why do some negotiators benefit from making the first offer during negotiations while others do not? This study explores the contents of conversations that take place before negotiators make their first offers in order to learn more about the differences between ultimately successful first offers that benefit from anchoring effects and ultimately unsuccessful ones in which negotiators apparently derive no benefit from making the first offer. In-depth qualitative analyses of the conversations that...
Tax Judge Rules Appraiser Placed Lowball Valuation on Estate’s Painting
May 1, 2017
A Sotheby’s official appraised a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Younger back in 2005 at $500,000, but when the owner of the piece went to sell the painting, it drew more than four times that amount, selling for $2.1 million. So why such a wide gap between the estimated and actual value? The appraiser claimed that artwork prices spiked due to a large influx of Russian buyers who were eager to obtain old masters. However, the United States Tax Court took issue with this matter in a recent decision,...
May 1, 2017
A Sotheby’s official appraised a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Younger back in 2005 at $500,000, but when the owner of the piece went to sell the painting, it drew more than four times that amount, selling for $2.1 million. So why such a wide gap between the estimated and actual value? The appraiser claimed that artwork prices spiked due to a large influx of Russian buyers who were eager to obtain old masters. However, the United States Tax Court took issue with this matter in a recent decision,...
United Airlines Settles with Doctor Dragged from Flight
May 1, 2017
Dr. David Dao, the man seen in a viral video being dragged off a United Airlines flight earlier this month, has reached a settlement with the airline, his attorneys announced Thursday. According to Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio, Dao has reached a confidential settlement with the airline. The doctor was represented by Thomas Demetrio of Corboy & Demetrio, and Stephen Golan of Golan Christie Taglia, also based in Chicago.
May 1, 2017
Dr. David Dao, the man seen in a viral video being dragged off a United Airlines flight earlier this month, has reached a settlement with the airline, his attorneys announced Thursday. According to Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio, Dao has reached a confidential settlement with the airline. The doctor was represented by Thomas Demetrio of Corboy & Demetrio, and Stephen Golan of Golan Christie Taglia, also based in Chicago.
Malpractice Laws and Incentives to Shield Assets: Evidence from Nursing Homes
May 1, 2017
Empirical research on medical malpractice liability has largely ignored incentives to restructure to protect assets. This study provides evidence on asset shielding in the nursing home industry. There was a rapid increase in lawsuits alleging patient neglect or abuse in states with plaintiff-friendly tort environments beginning in the second half of the 1990s. We document two apparent asset-shielding trends in these states during the 1998–2004 period: (1) sales of homes by large chains to smaller,...
May 1, 2017
Empirical research on medical malpractice liability has largely ignored incentives to restructure to protect assets. This study provides evidence on asset shielding in the nursing home industry. There was a rapid increase in lawsuits alleging patient neglect or abuse in states with plaintiff-friendly tort environments beginning in the second half of the 1990s. We document two apparent asset-shielding trends in these states during the 1998–2004 period: (1) sales of homes by large chains to smaller,...
Superhumans Live Among Us
April 30, 2017
The usual explanation for why humans are so much more capable is their flexibility, which probably results mainly from their breadth. A computer doing a task usually has available to it a far smaller range of methods, knowledge, and data. When what it has are good enough, a computer can be far more accurate and cheaper than a human. But when when a computer lacks important relevant method, knowledge, and data, then you just can’t do without that human flexibility and breadth. You might hire a human...
April 30, 2017
The usual explanation for why humans are so much more capable is their flexibility, which probably results mainly from their breadth. A computer doing a task usually has available to it a far smaller range of methods, knowledge, and data. When what it has are good enough, a computer can be far more accurate and cheaper than a human. But when when a computer lacks important relevant method, knowledge, and data, then you just can’t do without that human flexibility and breadth. You might hire a human...
What Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s Unusual Divorce Filing Says About Their Split
April 30, 2017
From People: Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck continue to be a united front — even through their divorce. The former couple officially filed divorce papers on Thursday — coordinating the filing of near-identical documents at the same time. In a somewhat unusual legal move, they both cited in pro persona, a legal term which means that, at least on the record, they are representing themselves and don’t cite a lawyer representing them. That’s a way of keeping their case extra-private as well...
April 30, 2017
From People: Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck continue to be a united front — even through their divorce. The former couple officially filed divorce papers on Thursday — coordinating the filing of near-identical documents at the same time. In a somewhat unusual legal move, they both cited in pro persona, a legal term which means that, at least on the record, they are representing themselves and don’t cite a lawyer representing them. That’s a way of keeping their case extra-private as well...
The Standard of Proof in the Substantiation of Child Abuse and Neglect
April 30, 2017
We measure the extent to which requiring a high standard of proof for substantiation of child abuse or neglect by child protection agencies actually influences the disposition of a report of abuse or neglect. Using data on nearly 8 million reports from fiscal 2000–2012, we show that a high standard is associated with lower rates of substantiation and that an increase in the standard decreases the probability of substantiation by up to 14 percent. After a change to a high standard, children may be less...
April 30, 2017
We measure the extent to which requiring a high standard of proof for substantiation of child abuse or neglect by child protection agencies actually influences the disposition of a report of abuse or neglect. Using data on nearly 8 million reports from fiscal 2000–2012, we show that a high standard is associated with lower rates of substantiation and that an increase in the standard decreases the probability of substantiation by up to 14 percent. After a change to a high standard, children may be less...
Can’t Get a Word in Edgewise? How to Short Circuit the Serial Interrupter
April 29, 2017
A negotiation or mediation should have a flow or rhythm. Ideally both parties are actively listening to each other and expressing themselves in an effective and professional manner. Although each side is trying to get the most benefit from an agreement, both sides understand any agreement is a two-way street where they both have to have their needs met. If one party or both are interrupting each other, there is no flow or rhythm and frustration and anger can mount,...
April 29, 2017
A negotiation or mediation should have a flow or rhythm. Ideally both parties are actively listening to each other and expressing themselves in an effective and professional manner. Although each side is trying to get the most benefit from an agreement, both sides understand any agreement is a two-way street where they both have to have their needs met. If one party or both are interrupting each other, there is no flow or rhythm and frustration and anger can mount,...
10 Ways That Running Changes Your Mind and Brain
April 29, 2017
“One 60-minute run can add 7 hours to your life” claimed The Times last week. The story was based on a new review in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases that concluded that runners live, on average, three years longer than non-runners and that running will do more for your longevity than any other form of exercise. But there’s more to running than its health-enhancing effects. Research published in recent years has shown that donning your trainers and pounding the hills or pavements changes...
April 29, 2017
“One 60-minute run can add 7 hours to your life” claimed The Times last week. The story was based on a new review in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases that concluded that runners live, on average, three years longer than non-runners and that running will do more for your longevity than any other form of exercise. But there’s more to running than its health-enhancing effects. Research published in recent years has shown that donning your trainers and pounding the hills or pavements changes...
Free Law Project to Download All Opinions from PACER and Make Them Available to Public
April 29, 2017
In a blog post, Free Law Project Executive Director Michael Lissner said that his organization is undertaking this project because the documents have monumental value but are not easily available to the public. These documents are a critical part of America’s legal system, and yet there is no easy and free way to access or analyze them except through expensive third party vendors whose tools are out of reach for many people. This inhibits researchers, journalists, and the public, and is in conflict...
April 29, 2017
In a blog post, Free Law Project Executive Director Michael Lissner said that his organization is undertaking this project because the documents have monumental value but are not easily available to the public. These documents are a critical part of America’s legal system, and yet there is no easy and free way to access or analyze them except through expensive third party vendors whose tools are out of reach for many people. This inhibits researchers, journalists, and the public, and is in conflict...
