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An Arbitration Agreement That Attempts to Skew a Statutory Arbitration Scheme Is Void as Against Public Policy
April 10, 2017
Federal public policy favors arbitration and the broad interpretation and enforcement of arbitration agreements. So how can an arbitration agreement be held by a court to be void as against public policy? One answer from a state court (in circumstances where the Federal Arbitration Act did not apply) is that toying with a statutory arbitration scheme could do the trick. In Hernandez v. Crespo, No. SC15-67, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 2718 (Fla. Dec. 22, 2016), the Supreme Court of Florida held that a physician-patient...
April 10, 2017
Federal public policy favors arbitration and the broad interpretation and enforcement of arbitration agreements. So how can an arbitration agreement be held by a court to be void as against public policy? One answer from a state court (in circumstances where the Federal Arbitration Act did not apply) is that toying with a statutory arbitration scheme could do the trick. In Hernandez v. Crespo, No. SC15-67, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 2718 (Fla. Dec. 22, 2016), the Supreme Court of Florida held that a physician-patient...
IBM Watson using Blockchain to protect Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)!
April 9, 2017
Computerworld announced that “IBM’s Watson Health artificial intelligence unit has signed a two-year joint-development agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explore using blockchain technology to securely share patient data for medical research and other purposes.” The January 11, 2017 article entitled “IBM Watson, FDA to explore blockchain for secure patient data exchange” included this plan for blockchain: IBM Watson Health and the FDA will explore the exchange...
April 9, 2017
Computerworld announced that “IBM’s Watson Health artificial intelligence unit has signed a two-year joint-development agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explore using blockchain technology to securely share patient data for medical research and other purposes.” The January 11, 2017 article entitled “IBM Watson, FDA to explore blockchain for secure patient data exchange” included this plan for blockchain: IBM Watson Health and the FDA will explore the exchange...
Why You Should Always Have a Will
April 9, 2017
For those who die without a will, the distribution of their estate can get ugly, which may very well be the case for the 50% of American...
April 9, 2017
For those who die without a will, the distribution of their estate can get ugly, which may very well be the case for the 50% of American...
Is Laughter the Best Medicine?
April 9, 2017
Laughter truly is the best medicine, so it is no surprise that one-third of Brits want to be remembered for their humor when they die. Specifically, 36% of Brits prioritized humor over every other trait, while 41% said their most enduring memories with loved ones included their jokes, smiles, and laughs. As for how they want to be defined in death, most Brits claimed that levity and amusement were the most-desired characteristics. Further, the study looked at how memories impact coping with death....
April 9, 2017
Laughter truly is the best medicine, so it is no surprise that one-third of Brits want to be remembered for their humor when they die. Specifically, 36% of Brits prioritized humor over every other trait, while 41% said their most enduring memories with loved ones included their jokes, smiles, and laughs. As for how they want to be defined in death, most Brits claimed that levity and amusement were the most-desired characteristics. Further, the study looked at how memories impact coping with death....
Self-Driving Cars Could Help Transportation Efforts for Aging Americans
April 8, 2017
Self-driving cars might be a viable means of getting from place to place for older adults in the near future. Currently, approximately 16 million Americans sixty-five and older live in communities where the public transportation is poor or nonexistent. That number is expected to grow rapidly as the baby boomer generation continues to remain outside the major cities. Autonomous vehicles could be the key for closing this concerning mobility gap for an aging society, while automakers are vying in the race...
April 8, 2017
Self-driving cars might be a viable means of getting from place to place for older adults in the near future. Currently, approximately 16 million Americans sixty-five and older live in communities where the public transportation is poor or nonexistent. That number is expected to grow rapidly as the baby boomer generation continues to remain outside the major cities. Autonomous vehicles could be the key for closing this concerning mobility gap for an aging society, while automakers are vying in the race...
Can Data Help Lawyers Earn More Money?
April 8, 2017
In 2016, the company released its Legal Trends Report, which studied benchmark data from its 150,000 daily active users. It found on average, users only billed 28 percent of their available work hours, and the average billable hour rate across the country was $232. Big data is increasingly available to industries, but lawyer information still tends to be self reported, which can be problematic, said George Psiharis, vice president of business development and partnerships at Clio. Sometimes the information...
April 8, 2017
In 2016, the company released its Legal Trends Report, which studied benchmark data from its 150,000 daily active users. It found on average, users only billed 28 percent of their available work hours, and the average billable hour rate across the country was $232. Big data is increasingly available to industries, but lawyer information still tends to be self reported, which can be problematic, said George Psiharis, vice president of business development and partnerships at Clio. Sometimes the information...
A.I. Versus M.D.: What Happens When Diagnosis is Automated?
April 8, 2017
“I’m interested in magnifying human ability,” Thrun said, when I asked him about the impact of such systems on human diagnosticians. “Look, did industrial farming eliminate some forms of farming? Absolutely, but it amplified our capacity to produce agricultural goods. Not all of this was good, but it allowed us to feed more people. The industrial revolution amplified the power of human muscle. When you use a phone, you amplify the power of human speech. You cannot shout from New York to California”—Thrun...
April 8, 2017
“I’m interested in magnifying human ability,” Thrun said, when I asked him about the impact of such systems on human diagnosticians. “Look, did industrial farming eliminate some forms of farming? Absolutely, but it amplified our capacity to produce agricultural goods. Not all of this was good, but it allowed us to feed more people. The industrial revolution amplified the power of human muscle. When you use a phone, you amplify the power of human speech. You cannot shout from New York to California”—Thrun...
Farmers Data Reveals Hail, Flood and Potholes Biggest Risks for Drivers This Spring
April 7, 2017
New data from the latest Farmers Seasonal Smarts Digest reveals that 60 percent of all comprehensive hail claims occur between March and May. Drivers from California to Virginia, and everywhere in between, should be aware of the potential for hail damage, as Farmers data uncovered a 40 percent increase in hail claims during the past four years. Farmers Insurance auto claims filed between 2013 and 2016 show that in addition to an increase in hail, drivers across the country should be aware of two other...
April 7, 2017
New data from the latest Farmers Seasonal Smarts Digest reveals that 60 percent of all comprehensive hail claims occur between March and May. Drivers from California to Virginia, and everywhere in between, should be aware of the potential for hail damage, as Farmers data uncovered a 40 percent increase in hail claims during the past four years. Farmers Insurance auto claims filed between 2013 and 2016 show that in addition to an increase in hail, drivers across the country should be aware of two other...
Moving Negotiation Theory from the Tower of Babel Toward a World of Mutual Understanding
April 7, 2017
This article synthesizes insights from the University of Missouri Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution symposium, “Moving Negotiation Theory from the Tower of Babel Toward a World of Mutual Understanding.” There is a wide range of concepts, issues, perspectives, theories, and applications from different disciplines with little consensus in the negotiation field. This symposium was conducted to help clarify negotiation theory and make it more useful for scholars, faculty, students, and practitioners...
April 7, 2017
This article synthesizes insights from the University of Missouri Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution symposium, “Moving Negotiation Theory from the Tower of Babel Toward a World of Mutual Understanding.” There is a wide range of concepts, issues, perspectives, theories, and applications from different disciplines with little consensus in the negotiation field. This symposium was conducted to help clarify negotiation theory and make it more useful for scholars, faculty, students, and practitioners...
The Changing Economic Geography of Large U.S. Law Firms
April 7, 2017
The number of lawyers working for large U.S. law firms has increased dramatically. One important manifestation of this is the growing network of branch offices. Informed by three theories of spatial change — law firms (i) following the geographic expansion of their clients, relying on (ii) traditional agglomeration economies and relying on (iii) agglomeration benefits emerging from a location’s connectivity to other important geographies — we analyze longitudinal data on large U.S. law firms...
April 7, 2017
The number of lawyers working for large U.S. law firms has increased dramatically. One important manifestation of this is the growing network of branch offices. Informed by three theories of spatial change — law firms (i) following the geographic expansion of their clients, relying on (ii) traditional agglomeration economies and relying on (iii) agglomeration benefits emerging from a location’s connectivity to other important geographies — we analyze longitudinal data on large U.S. law firms...
