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High-Low Settlement Agreement; Ruling Somewhere in the Middle
March 2, 2016
In a long-running dispute about Transocean’s ability to recover “maintenance and cure” payments to Boudreaux, a seaman, the parties reached a “high-low” settlement agreement. The Fifth Circuit then held — in an outcome not clearly anticipated by the parties’ deal — that Transocean had no affirmative right of recovery as against Boudreaux,but did have a right to make offsets against future payments. Boudreaux v. Transocean Deepwater, Inc., 721 F.3d 723, 724-25 (5th Cir. 2013)....
March 2, 2016
In a long-running dispute about Transocean’s ability to recover “maintenance and cure” payments to Boudreaux, a seaman, the parties reached a “high-low” settlement agreement. The Fifth Circuit then held — in an outcome not clearly anticipated by the parties’ deal — that Transocean had no affirmative right of recovery as against Boudreaux,but did have a right to make offsets against future payments. Boudreaux v. Transocean Deepwater, Inc., 721 F.3d 723, 724-25 (5th Cir. 2013)....
Negotiation, Ethics, and Mindfulness
March 2, 2016
There's a nice article on negotiation, ethics, and mindfulness on the Anxious Lawyer Blog. It goes well with the professional identity discussion we've been having here lately. What They Didn’t Teach You In Law School: Skillful Negotiation by Jenna Cho. Excerpts: "When I was in law school, I took a negotiations class that was offered through the MBA program. It was an eye opening experience to take a class with students from the MBA program as well as my fellow law students. We were graded...
March 2, 2016
There's a nice article on negotiation, ethics, and mindfulness on the Anxious Lawyer Blog. It goes well with the professional identity discussion we've been having here lately. What They Didn’t Teach You In Law School: Skillful Negotiation by Jenna Cho. Excerpts: "When I was in law school, I took a negotiations class that was offered through the MBA program. It was an eye opening experience to take a class with students from the MBA program as well as my fellow law students. We were graded...
Advance Sheet: Risk Assessment
March 2, 2016
Risk numbers do have some value, however, in calculating settlement figures. As a defendant you can always take the maximum...
March 2, 2016
Risk numbers do have some value, however, in calculating settlement figures. As a defendant you can always take the maximum...
Using a Bot to Fight a Parking Ticket?
March 1, 2016
An enterprising Stanford student thinks he can get you out of a parking ticket without the cost of a lawyer. So how does it work? Users engage with chat screen where the “robot lawyer” asks questions such as, "Were you the one driving?" and, "Was it hard to understand the parking signs?" After the Q&A, the bot generates an appeal letter which the user sends to the court. The service comes at no cost. * * * Browder’s bot and Fixed are among several legal bots popping up in the market...
March 1, 2016
An enterprising Stanford student thinks he can get you out of a parking ticket without the cost of a lawyer. So how does it work? Users engage with chat screen where the “robot lawyer” asks questions such as, "Were you the one driving?" and, "Was it hard to understand the parking signs?" After the Q&A, the bot generates an appeal letter which the user sends to the court. The service comes at no cost. * * * Browder’s bot and Fixed are among several legal bots popping up in the market...
Artificial Intelligence and Law Practice Conference at Vanderbilt
March 1, 2016
The conference, called Watson, Esq. Will Your Next Lawyer Be a Machine will be held at Vanderbilt Law School on April 13 and 14, 2016 and features several notable speakers on legal practice futurism and technology including Richard Susskind, author of The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services, and Andrew Arruda, whose firm ROSS Intelligence helped build ROSS, the world’s first artificially intelligent attorney, on top of IBM's Watson. Go here to see the full list of speakers...
March 1, 2016
The conference, called Watson, Esq. Will Your Next Lawyer Be a Machine will be held at Vanderbilt Law School on April 13 and 14, 2016 and features several notable speakers on legal practice futurism and technology including Richard Susskind, author of The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services, and Andrew Arruda, whose firm ROSS Intelligence helped build ROSS, the world’s first artificially intelligent attorney, on top of IBM's Watson. Go here to see the full list of speakers...
The Seven Deadly Sins of Mediation
March 1, 2016
After mediating hundreds of cases in all different fields and parts of the country over 18 years, I’ve reached a few conclusions about mediation that might be helpful to trial lawyers and that I’ve boiled down to seven deadly sins. Just as avoiding religious sins may not guarantee a place in heaven, avoiding my mediation sins can’t guarantee a favorable settlement. But they might at least lower the odds of self-inflicted wounds.Before laying out the sins, two caveats: First, let me say that...
March 1, 2016
After mediating hundreds of cases in all different fields and parts of the country over 18 years, I’ve reached a few conclusions about mediation that might be helpful to trial lawyers and that I’ve boiled down to seven deadly sins. Just as avoiding religious sins may not guarantee a place in heaven, avoiding my mediation sins can’t guarantee a favorable settlement. But they might at least lower the odds of self-inflicted wounds.Before laying out the sins, two caveats: First, let me say that...
Legal Technology Spend at $3bn and Growing
February 29, 2016
The five key findings or market trends are: increasing number of attorneys; increasing matter volumes (more work); margin compression (for law firms); and the move from outside counsel to in-house counsel for corporations. Unless I missed something, which is always possible, that’s only four. I would add one more myself, which is the growth among alternative legal providers, especially legal process outsourcers, which according to a report and graphic in January by Thomson Reuters’ Legal Executive...
February 29, 2016
The five key findings or market trends are: increasing number of attorneys; increasing matter volumes (more work); margin compression (for law firms); and the move from outside counsel to in-house counsel for corporations. Unless I missed something, which is always possible, that’s only four. I would add one more myself, which is the growth among alternative legal providers, especially legal process outsourcers, which according to a report and graphic in January by Thomson Reuters’ Legal Executive...
EEOC Charges Up for 2015
February 29, 2016
Filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC is not difficult for a motivated former employee. A lawyer is not necessary...
February 29, 2016
Filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC is not difficult for a motivated former employee. A lawyer is not necessary...
The Settlement of Family Law Disputes Gets No Respect
February 29, 2016
Among the beatitudes in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9 (King James ).) This is the praise that should be given to lawyers who settle their cases on a reasonable basis. Unfortunately, reality often is just the opposite. Lawyers who recommend a sensible settlement may lose the esteem of their clients. They may risk being replaced by more “aggressive” lawyers. They may be viewed by their legal...
February 29, 2016
Among the beatitudes in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9 (King James ).) This is the praise that should be given to lawyers who settle their cases on a reasonable basis. Unfortunately, reality often is just the opposite. Lawyers who recommend a sensible settlement may lose the esteem of their clients. They may risk being replaced by more “aggressive” lawyers. They may be viewed by their legal...
Ravel Law Adds Judges, Features to its Judge Analytics Tool
February 28, 2016
Judge analytics is the new black. Or at least that’s what I wrote in a post last summer that discussed several products...
February 28, 2016
Judge analytics is the new black. Or at least that’s what I wrote in a post last summer that discussed several products...
