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Four Behaviors are the Most Reliable Predictors of Divorce
March 6, 2016
When the psychologists added questions about things like relationship satisfaction and how many times the research subjects had thoughts about separating to the mix, they could predict which marriages would end in divorce 93% of the time. The figure, which comes from a 14-year study of 79 couples living across the US Midwest (21 of whom divorced during the study period), was so striking it spurned the researchers to label the four behaviors "the four horsemen of the apocalypse."
March 6, 2016
When the psychologists added questions about things like relationship satisfaction and how many times the research subjects had thoughts about separating to the mix, they could predict which marriages would end in divorce 93% of the time. The figure, which comes from a 14-year study of 79 couples living across the US Midwest (21 of whom divorced during the study period), was so striking it spurned the researchers to label the four behaviors "the four horsemen of the apocalypse."
Salesforce Acquires Machine Learning Startup PredictionIO
March 5, 2016
Salesforce has acquired PredictionIO, a startup with general-purpose open source machine learning software, Simon Chan, the startup’s...
March 5, 2016
Salesforce has acquired PredictionIO, a startup with general-purpose open source machine learning software, Simon Chan, the startup’s...
19-Year-Old Made Free Robot That Appealed $3 Million In Parking Tickets
March 5, 2016
Hiring a lawyer for a parking-ticket appeal is not only a headache, but it can also cost more than the ticket itself. Depending on the case and the lawyer, an appeal — a legal process where you argue out of paying the fine — can cost between $400 to $900. But with the help of a robot made by British programmer Joshua Browder, 19, it costs nothing. Browder's bot handles questions about parking-ticket appeals in the UK. Since launching in late 2015, it has successfully appealed $3 million worth...
March 5, 2016
Hiring a lawyer for a parking-ticket appeal is not only a headache, but it can also cost more than the ticket itself. Depending on the case and the lawyer, an appeal — a legal process where you argue out of paying the fine — can cost between $400 to $900. But with the help of a robot made by British programmer Joshua Browder, 19, it costs nothing. Browder's bot handles questions about parking-ticket appeals in the UK. Since launching in late 2015, it has successfully appealed $3 million worth...
Data Mining Reveals How Smiling Evolved During a Century of Yearbook Photos
March 5, 2016
Data mining has changed the way we think about information. Machine-learning algorithms now routinely chomp their way through data sets of Twitter conversations, travel patterns, phone calls, and health records, to name just a few. And the insights this brings is dramatically improving our understanding of communication, travel, health, and so on. But there is another historical data set that has been largely ignored by the data-mining community—photographs. This presents a more complex challenge. For...
March 5, 2016
Data mining has changed the way we think about information. Machine-learning algorithms now routinely chomp their way through data sets of Twitter conversations, travel patterns, phone calls, and health records, to name just a few. And the insights this brings is dramatically improving our understanding of communication, travel, health, and so on. But there is another historical data set that has been largely ignored by the data-mining community—photographs. This presents a more complex challenge. For...
Advice on Contract Drafting
March 4, 2016
At the New York Bar Association Journal, Judge Gerald Lebovits provides a short, practical guide to contract drafting (here). He covers the planning stage, negotiations, and writing to your audience. He promises a future article on the parts of the contract.
March 4, 2016
At the New York Bar Association Journal, Judge Gerald Lebovits provides a short, practical guide to contract drafting (here). He covers the planning stage, negotiations, and writing to your audience. He promises a future article on the parts of the contract.
Is Mandatory Arbitration Bad for Business?
March 4, 2016
A recent article in The Economist, The big fight, notes that European companies are far ahead of American companies in developing dispute esolution systems for consumer disputes, especially in online ADR. I think a good case can be made that SCOTUS's pro-arbitration line of cases -- especially those that all but extinguish consumer class actions -- have removed the incentive for American companies to invest in developing effective dispute-resolution programs. As a result, American companies risk...
March 4, 2016
A recent article in The Economist, The big fight, notes that European companies are far ahead of American companies in developing dispute esolution systems for consumer disputes, especially in online ADR. I think a good case can be made that SCOTUS's pro-arbitration line of cases -- especially those that all but extinguish consumer class actions -- have removed the incentive for American companies to invest in developing effective dispute-resolution programs. As a result, American companies risk...
From the Bench: The Dos and Don’ts of Settlement Conferences
March 4, 2016
I have conducted hundreds of settlement conferences as a magistrate judge and observed many things lawyers do to enhance the settlement process—and just as many done to impede it. Obviously, judges have their own preferences in every aspect of litigation, and settlement conferences are no exception. The list below of the top 10 dos and don’ts, in no particular order of significance, thus reflects my own particular practices and procedures. It is, of course, always advisable to obtain information...
March 4, 2016
I have conducted hundreds of settlement conferences as a magistrate judge and observed many things lawyers do to enhance the settlement process—and just as many done to impede it. Obviously, judges have their own preferences in every aspect of litigation, and settlement conferences are no exception. The list below of the top 10 dos and don’ts, in no particular order of significance, thus reflects my own particular practices and procedures. It is, of course, always advisable to obtain information...
U.S. Launches ‘Next Generation’ Site for Researching Federal Law
March 3, 2016
The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has launched the beta version of a website it is calling the “next generation” of access to information from the three branches of the federal government. Called govinfo.gov, the site is a more modern alternative to FDsys, the seven-year-old federal digital research site it will fully replace in 2017. “Govinfo is a user-friendly, modernized site that provides an easy to use navigation system accessible on smartphones, tablets, laptops and personal...
March 3, 2016
The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has launched the beta version of a website it is calling the “next generation” of access to information from the three branches of the federal government. Called govinfo.gov, the site is a more modern alternative to FDsys, the seven-year-old federal digital research site it will fully replace in 2017. “Govinfo is a user-friendly, modernized site that provides an easy to use navigation system accessible on smartphones, tablets, laptops and personal...
Allegedly Fraudulent Settlement Not Set Aside
March 3, 2016
Cal Dive settled a hard-fought lawsuit against Schmidt, one of its divers, who alleged that he suffered a debilitating brain injury on the job. A year after the settlement, having continued with surveillance that it conducted during the litigation, Cal Dive brought an “independent action” under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1) to set aside the settlement, alleging “that, after reaching the Agreement but before signing the Release, Schmidt had acquired a driver’s license and purchased a new car....
March 3, 2016
Cal Dive settled a hard-fought lawsuit against Schmidt, one of its divers, who alleged that he suffered a debilitating brain injury on the job. A year after the settlement, having continued with surveillance that it conducted during the litigation, Cal Dive brought an “independent action” under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1) to set aside the settlement, alleging “that, after reaching the Agreement but before signing the Release, Schmidt had acquired a driver’s license and purchased a new car....
Global Litigator: Seeking success in International Mediation
March 3, 2016
As American businesses increasingly find themselves involved in cross-border transactions, business litigators correspondingly need to be equipped to help resolve disputes with foreign entities. While practices and procedures for much of litigation involving non-U.S. parties are well defined, mediation largely remains a rather murky area of international dispute resolution. In contrast to U.S. practice, mediation is uncommon in many parts of the world. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to introduce...
March 3, 2016
As American businesses increasingly find themselves involved in cross-border transactions, business litigators correspondingly need to be equipped to help resolve disputes with foreign entities. While practices and procedures for much of litigation involving non-U.S. parties are well defined, mediation largely remains a rather murky area of international dispute resolution. In contrast to U.S. practice, mediation is uncommon in many parts of the world. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to introduce...
