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You Only Have a Few Moments to Make a Lasting, First Impression
March 24, 2017
First impressions are lasting impressions. Trying to correct a bad first impression can be done, but it may take time and effort. Whether you’re meeting a prospective client, another attorney or the opposing party during a mediation, first impressions count. According to a 1992 study that first impression is formed within two seconds of seeing you, according to Entrepreneur magazine. Two Harvard researchers, Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal, did an experiment where they asked students to rate...
March 24, 2017
First impressions are lasting impressions. Trying to correct a bad first impression can be done, but it may take time and effort. Whether you’re meeting a prospective client, another attorney or the opposing party during a mediation, first impressions count. According to a 1992 study that first impression is formed within two seconds of seeing you, according to Entrepreneur magazine. Two Harvard researchers, Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal, did an experiment where they asked students to rate...
The Psychology of Mediation: Issues of Self and Identity and the IDR Cycle
March 23, 2017
Issues of self-identity and self-esteem play an important role in mediation. They may be described in different ways. Sometimes...
March 23, 2017
Issues of self-identity and self-esteem play an important role in mediation. They may be described in different ways. Sometimes...
Enforcement of an International Arbitration Award in a Non-New York Convention Country
March 23, 2017
You presented your case, and the arbitration tribunal came back with a reasoned decision and an award in your favor. You even had the award confirmed here in the United States. You want to enforce it. But you find that the award-debtor’s assets are all held in or have been moved to a country that is not a party to the New York Convention. Now what? Enforcing a U.S.-sited international arbitral award in a foreign country is ordinarily far easier than enforcing a U.S. judgment abroad due to the adoption...
March 23, 2017
You presented your case, and the arbitration tribunal came back with a reasoned decision and an award in your favor. You even had the award confirmed here in the United States. You want to enforce it. But you find that the award-debtor’s assets are all held in or have been moved to a country that is not a party to the New York Convention. Now what? Enforcing a U.S.-sited international arbitral award in a foreign country is ordinarily far easier than enforcing a U.S. judgment abroad due to the adoption...
No Foreclosure, Ergo No Wrongful Foreclosure
March 23, 2017
Foster sued about a foreclosure; the state court granted a TRO (so no foreclosure occurred); and the mortgage servicer defendants removed and obtained summary judgment. Foster challenged the denial of her motion to remand, arguing that she did not improperly join the substitute trustee appointed to conduct the foreclosure sale. The Fifth Circuit affirmed: “[B]reach of a trustee’s duty does not constitute an independent tort; rather, it yields a cause of action for wrongful foreclosure. A claim...
March 23, 2017
Foster sued about a foreclosure; the state court granted a TRO (so no foreclosure occurred); and the mortgage servicer defendants removed and obtained summary judgment. Foster challenged the denial of her motion to remand, arguing that she did not improperly join the substitute trustee appointed to conduct the foreclosure sale. The Fifth Circuit affirmed: “[B]reach of a trustee’s duty does not constitute an independent tort; rather, it yields a cause of action for wrongful foreclosure. A claim...
Behavioral Probability
March 22, 2017
Throughout their long history, humans have worked hard to tame chance. They adapted to their uncertain physical and social...
March 22, 2017
Throughout their long history, humans have worked hard to tame chance. They adapted to their uncertain physical and social...
No Arbitration in Stanford Cases
March 22, 2017
The receiver of the Allen Stanford businesses sued several investors for receiving fraudulent conveyances. In earlier appeals, the Fifth Circuit resolved other thresehold issues in these cases; in Janvey v. Alguire, the Court reviewed the denials of the defendants’ motions to compel arbitration. It affirmed, rejecting their arguments based on arbitration clauses in various Stanford-related documents: “Because the Receiver may sue on behalf of any of the Stanford entities that has a claim against...
March 22, 2017
The receiver of the Allen Stanford businesses sued several investors for receiving fraudulent conveyances. In earlier appeals, the Fifth Circuit resolved other thresehold issues in these cases; in Janvey v. Alguire, the Court reviewed the denials of the defendants’ motions to compel arbitration. It affirmed, rejecting their arguments based on arbitration clauses in various Stanford-related documents: “Because the Receiver may sue on behalf of any of the Stanford entities that has a claim against...
Words Have Power So Use Them Wisely
March 22, 2017
Negotiations and mediations are exercises in diplomacy. It’s an opportunity to bring opposing parties together so the language used needs to reflect that. The parties may have very harsh feelings towards each other but that doesn’t mean resolving the dispute isn’t worth a try. To reach that goal the right words need to be used. It’s not always easy. Based on what you know about the case and your experience you may genuinely think the opposing party or attorney is a miserable $(%@!. But that...
March 22, 2017
Negotiations and mediations are exercises in diplomacy. It’s an opportunity to bring opposing parties together so the language used needs to reflect that. The parties may have very harsh feelings towards each other but that doesn’t mean resolving the dispute isn’t worth a try. To reach that goal the right words need to be used. It’s not always easy. Based on what you know about the case and your experience you may genuinely think the opposing party or attorney is a miserable $(%@!. But that...
Doug Noll: How One Man Found His Calling as a Peacemaker, Especially in Prisons
March 21, 2017
My life really began after 50. I was a trial lawyer for 22 years. Through a gradual awakening, I realized that my calling was not in the courtroom, and in 2000, exactly two weeks after my 50th birthday, I left a successful trial practice in a major law firm to become a peacemaker. Nearly a decade later, my colleague Laurel Kaufer received a request from an inmate serving time in a notorious facility, what was then the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, Calif.
March 21, 2017
My life really began after 50. I was a trial lawyer for 22 years. Through a gradual awakening, I realized that my calling was not in the courtroom, and in 2000, exactly two weeks after my 50th birthday, I left a successful trial practice in a major law firm to become a peacemaker. Nearly a decade later, my colleague Laurel Kaufer received a request from an inmate serving time in a notorious facility, what was then the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, Calif.
Dallas COA Orders Arbitration Based on Electronic Signature and Click Through User Agreement
March 21, 2017
Texas’ Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has ordered a health care liability lawsuit to arbitration based on an online...
March 21, 2017
Texas’ Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has ordered a health care liability lawsuit to arbitration based on an online...
A Brief Refresher on Rule 11 Settlement Agreements
March 21, 2017
Participants in a recent online forum sought guidance on the basics of settlement agreements created under Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. That discussion answered the question haunting anyone who writes a recurring article—what the hell do we talk about next time? So, with many thanks for the prompt, this article will discuss the basic elements of settlement agreements documented under Rule 11 and the mechanisms to enforce those agreements. Rule 11 provides: Unless otherwise...
March 21, 2017
Participants in a recent online forum sought guidance on the basics of settlement agreements created under Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. That discussion answered the question haunting anyone who writes a recurring article—what the hell do we talk about next time? So, with many thanks for the prompt, this article will discuss the basic elements of settlement agreements documented under Rule 11 and the mechanisms to enforce those agreements. Rule 11 provides: Unless otherwise...
