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Early Contract Termination can be a Fraudulent Transfer
April 6, 2017
A group of real estate companies paid Prime LLC for consulting services. While the contract allowed termination with 60 days notice, the group and Prime agreed to end the contract without using the notice provision. A creditor complained that this termination made a fraudulent transfer, and the Fifth Circuit agreed that the claim was at least facially plausible: “While the value of the notice period lost by failure to adhere to the notice provision remains an issue for further development in the district...
April 6, 2017
A group of real estate companies paid Prime LLC for consulting services. While the contract allowed termination with 60 days notice, the group and Prime agreed to end the contract without using the notice provision. A creditor complained that this termination made a fraudulent transfer, and the Fifth Circuit agreed that the claim was at least facially plausible: “While the value of the notice period lost by failure to adhere to the notice provision remains an issue for further development in the district...
The International Task Force on Mixed Mode Dispute Resolution: Exploring the Interplay between Mediation, Evaluation and Arbitration in Commercial Cases
April 6, 2017
As mediation and other settlement-oriented intervention strategies have come into broader use in commercial dispute resolution, different views have emerged regarding the nature and purpose of some of these processes as a result of both individual choice and cultural or systemic factors. Source: New: The International Task Force on Mixed Mode Dispute Resolution: Exploring the Interplay between Mediation, Evaluation and Arbitration in Commercial Cases
April 6, 2017
As mediation and other settlement-oriented intervention strategies have come into broader use in commercial dispute resolution, different views have emerged regarding the nature and purpose of some of these processes as a result of both individual choice and cultural or systemic factors. Source: New: The International Task Force on Mixed Mode Dispute Resolution: Exploring the Interplay between Mediation, Evaluation and Arbitration in Commercial Cases
Article on Nonjudicial Settlement Agreements
April 6, 2017
Linda Kotis recently published an Article entitled, Nonjudicial Settlement Agreements: Your Irrevocable Trust Is Not Set in Stone, 31 Probate & Property 32 (2017). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: A nonjudicial settlement agreement (NJSA) is a valuable tool for modifying trusts and addressing the construction of provisions when a trust is silent or unclear. It also can be used to resolve beneficiary and trustee disputes. Through an overview of the new Maryland law and a discussion...
April 6, 2017
Linda Kotis recently published an Article entitled, Nonjudicial Settlement Agreements: Your Irrevocable Trust Is Not Set in Stone, 31 Probate & Property 32 (2017). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: A nonjudicial settlement agreement (NJSA) is a valuable tool for modifying trusts and addressing the construction of provisions when a trust is silent or unclear. It also can be used to resolve beneficiary and trustee disputes. Through an overview of the new Maryland law and a discussion...
Article on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Estate Planning Jurisprudence
April 5, 2017
Thomas P. Gallanis recently published an Article entitled, The U.S. Supreme Court and the Law of Trusts and Estates: A Law Reformer’s Perspective, 42 ACTEC L.J. 11 (2016). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: This brief essay was commissioned by the ACTEC Law Journal for a symposium issue on The Supreme Court's Estate Planning Jurisprudence. The essay examines the relationship between recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the law of trusts and estates. The essay does so from...
April 5, 2017
Thomas P. Gallanis recently published an Article entitled, The U.S. Supreme Court and the Law of Trusts and Estates: A Law Reformer’s Perspective, 42 ACTEC L.J. 11 (2016). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: This brief essay was commissioned by the ACTEC Law Journal for a symposium issue on The Supreme Court's Estate Planning Jurisprudence. The essay examines the relationship between recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the law of trusts and estates. The essay does so from...
Living the Dream of ADR: Reflections on Four Decades of the Quiet Revolution in Dispute Resolution (Symposium Keynote)
April 5, 2017
This article, an expanded version of a symposium keynote address, examines the dramatic national and worldwide impact of the revolution in dispute resolution that was heralded by the 1976 Pound Conference. Professor Stipanowich explores (1) related changes in the justice system and legal practice; (2) the divergence in dispute resolution practice within and outside the U.S.; (3) the "gravitational pull" exerted by the legal profession on mediation and other processes; (4) concerns over racial, ethnic...
April 5, 2017
This article, an expanded version of a symposium keynote address, examines the dramatic national and worldwide impact of the revolution in dispute resolution that was heralded by the 1976 Pound Conference. Professor Stipanowich explores (1) related changes in the justice system and legal practice; (2) the divergence in dispute resolution practice within and outside the U.S.; (3) the "gravitational pull" exerted by the legal profession on mediation and other processes; (4) concerns over racial, ethnic...
Article on Arbitration of Trust Disputes
April 5, 2017
S.I. Strong recently published an Article entitled, The European Succession Regulation and the Arbitration of Trust Disputes,...
April 5, 2017
S.I. Strong recently published an Article entitled, The European Succession Regulation and the Arbitration of Trust Disputes,...
SXSW Panel: How Attorneys are Crowdsourcing to Increase Access to Justice
April 4, 2017
With wide interest in closing the access to justice gap, lawyers at South by Southwest’s “Crowdsourcing Justice” panel on March 13 discussed creative ways to use technology to meet the rising demand for legal assistance. The panel focused on how lawyers have used several new crowdsourcing projects—which consist of gathering information from a large number of people remotely using the internet—in an effort to meet the needs of a mounting number of immigration clients and cases. “This...
April 4, 2017
With wide interest in closing the access to justice gap, lawyers at South by Southwest’s “Crowdsourcing Justice” panel on March 13 discussed creative ways to use technology to meet the rising demand for legal assistance. The panel focused on how lawyers have used several new crowdsourcing projects—which consist of gathering information from a large number of people remotely using the internet—in an effort to meet the needs of a mounting number of immigration clients and cases. “This...
The Interplay between Empirical Studies and Commercial Arbitration Practice
April 4, 2017
As the international legal community places unprecedented emphasis on commercial arbitration and dispute resolution, there is ample opportunity for discussion, introspection, and reconsideration of policies and practices. In this environment, empirical studies, including surveys of stakeholder groups, provide a helpful source of insight and inference in advancing our mutual understanding of arbitration practices and stakeholder perceptions. There are many challenges and concerns regarding surveys,...
April 4, 2017
As the international legal community places unprecedented emphasis on commercial arbitration and dispute resolution, there is ample opportunity for discussion, introspection, and reconsideration of policies and practices. In this environment, empirical studies, including surveys of stakeholder groups, provide a helpful source of insight and inference in advancing our mutual understanding of arbitration practices and stakeholder perceptions. There are many challenges and concerns regarding surveys,...
Prison Telephone Service Provider Continues to Lose on Enforcing Arbitration Provision
April 4, 2017
I have already blogged about a related case out of the Western District of Arkansas, in which the court concluded that prison inmates did not consent to arbitrate when they funded their telephone accounts to enable them to make calls. This case out of the Third Circuit, James v. Global Tellink Corp., No. 16-1555, affirms a similar conclusion by the District of New Jersey. To refresh your memory, GTL provides telephone services to prison inmates. Inmates sign up for accounts and deposit funds into...
April 4, 2017
I have already blogged about a related case out of the Western District of Arkansas, in which the court concluded that prison inmates did not consent to arbitrate when they funded their telephone accounts to enable them to make calls. This case out of the Third Circuit, James v. Global Tellink Corp., No. 16-1555, affirms a similar conclusion by the District of New Jersey. To refresh your memory, GTL provides telephone services to prison inmates. Inmates sign up for accounts and deposit funds into...
Three Steps for Effective Communication and Dealing with Sensitive Issues
April 3, 2017
Many lawsuits involve very personal, sensitive issues. They can include family law disputes, claims of discrimination and harassment in the workplace as well as personal injury claims. In many instances, an attorney needs to not only to be the zealous courtroom advocate but also a legal and emotional counselor. This task can be difficult work, especially if the lawsuit involves intimate details of the client’s life. If sensitive, personal issues are part of the case, you will have to talk to the client...
April 3, 2017
Many lawsuits involve very personal, sensitive issues. They can include family law disputes, claims of discrimination and harassment in the workplace as well as personal injury claims. In many instances, an attorney needs to not only to be the zealous courtroom advocate but also a legal and emotional counselor. This task can be difficult work, especially if the lawsuit involves intimate details of the client’s life. If sensitive, personal issues are part of the case, you will have to talk to the client...
