Blog Archives
Applying Principles of Improvisation to Negotiation
June 4, 2020
Expanding on a theme explored in Negotiation Journal’s last special issue on critical moments, this paper looks at key principles of improvisation and how they may apply to critical moments in negotiation. Improvisational acting encourages us to explore the “what ifs” and to focus on the power of saying “yes” rather than “no”—and “yes, and” rather than “yes, but”—as we listen to and interact with one another. The misconceptions of the meaning of “yes, and” in business...
June 4, 2020
Expanding on a theme explored in Negotiation Journal’s last special issue on critical moments, this paper looks at key principles of improvisation and how they may apply to critical moments in negotiation. Improvisational acting encourages us to explore the “what ifs” and to focus on the power of saying “yes” rather than “no”—and “yes, and” rather than “yes, but”—as we listen to and interact with one another. The misconceptions of the meaning of “yes, and” in business...
“Reasonable Self-Doubt” by Malcai & Rivlin
June 3, 2020
Sometimes, the availability of more evidence for a conclusion provides a reason to believe in its falsity. This counter-intuitive phenomenon is related to the idea of higher-order evidence, which has attracted broad interest in recent epistemological literature. Occasionally, providing more evidence for something weakens the case in its favor, by casting doubt on the probative value of other evidence of the same sort or on the fact-finder's cognitive performance. We analyze this phenomenon, discuss...
June 3, 2020
Sometimes, the availability of more evidence for a conclusion provides a reason to believe in its falsity. This counter-intuitive phenomenon is related to the idea of higher-order evidence, which has attracted broad interest in recent epistemological literature. Occasionally, providing more evidence for something weakens the case in its favor, by casting doubt on the probative value of other evidence of the same sort or on the fact-finder's cognitive performance. We analyze this phenomenon, discuss...
Nearly 300 federal suits stem from pandemic; 101 ‘business interruption’ cases filed; what’s next?
June 2, 2020
Nearly 300 federal lawsuits filed in the months of March and April stem from the COVID-19 pandemic, a number that is likely to continue to expand. Lex Machina found 395 new lawsuits using COVID-19 related terms over the two-month period. Among those suits, 287 stemmed from the COVID-19 crisis, the company reported. Contracts, insurance and employment were the practice areas with the largest number of cases stemming from the pandemic.
June 2, 2020
Nearly 300 federal lawsuits filed in the months of March and April stem from the COVID-19 pandemic, a number that is likely to continue to expand. Lex Machina found 395 new lawsuits using COVID-19 related terms over the two-month period. Among those suits, 287 stemmed from the COVID-19 crisis, the company reported. Contracts, insurance and employment were the practice areas with the largest number of cases stemming from the pandemic.
How COVID-19 Is Pushing Down Filings Across Practices
June 1, 2020
Federal court filings in many practice areas saw declines last month as the legal system continues to grapple with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with tax and copyright cases experiencing the most dramatic drops, according to data released Tuesday by Lex Machina. Looking at April federal court filings and terminations and comparing them to April activity in 2019 and 2018, Lex Machina found that while litigation continued to move forward as the coronavirus spread across the country,...
June 1, 2020
Federal court filings in many practice areas saw declines last month as the legal system continues to grapple with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with tax and copyright cases experiencing the most dramatic drops, according to data released Tuesday by Lex Machina. Looking at April federal court filings and terminations and comparing them to April activity in 2019 and 2018, Lex Machina found that while litigation continued to move forward as the coronavirus spread across the country,...
Simplifire & International Association for Contract and Commercial Management
May 31, 2020
This team worked with Simplifire and the IACCM to create a solution that helps parties evaluate changes to a contract made during the negotiation process. Contract drafts tend to start with templates and standard clauses that are rewritten through the negotiation process. Simplifire wanted a tool to measure the “distance” between the rewrite and the original clause to help the people reviewing changes. The team said that their solution enhances the Simplifire platform by “building a method...
May 31, 2020
This team worked with Simplifire and the IACCM to create a solution that helps parties evaluate changes to a contract made during the negotiation process. Contract drafts tend to start with templates and standard clauses that are rewritten through the negotiation process. Simplifire wanted a tool to measure the “distance” between the rewrite and the original clause to help the people reviewing changes. The team said that their solution enhances the Simplifire platform by “building a method...
Developing High‐Quality Data Infrastructure for Legal Analytics: Introducing the Israeli Supreme Court Database
May 30, 2020
Driving discovery in the study of law and legal institutions often requires infrastructure in the form of databases and other tools. The challenge is how to build the infrastructure. For obvious reasons, transplanting coding rules and variables from one dataset to the next is perilous; specialized knowledge of local conditions is necessary before one piece of datum is collected. Also required is adherence to a universal set of principles that distinguish high‐quality infrastructure; namely, that...
May 30, 2020
Driving discovery in the study of law and legal institutions often requires infrastructure in the form of databases and other tools. The challenge is how to build the infrastructure. For obvious reasons, transplanting coding rules and variables from one dataset to the next is perilous; specialized knowledge of local conditions is necessary before one piece of datum is collected. Also required is adherence to a universal set of principles that distinguish high‐quality infrastructure; namely, that...
Transitions from Infinite to Finite Games as Critical Moments
May 29, 2020
This theory article argues that negotiation is often played as a finite game that consists of a known number of players using an agreed‐upon set of rules (when parties are bargaining in good faith) aimed at achieving a specific outcome. However, activities and events leading up to negotiation can be viewed as an infinite game that has no fixed entities such as personnel, rules, and outcomes. Thus, a critical moment occurs when parties agree to make the transition from some infinite game, like...
May 29, 2020
This theory article argues that negotiation is often played as a finite game that consists of a known number of players using an agreed‐upon set of rules (when parties are bargaining in good faith) aimed at achieving a specific outcome. However, activities and events leading up to negotiation can be viewed as an infinite game that has no fixed entities such as personnel, rules, and outcomes. Thus, a critical moment occurs when parties agree to make the transition from some infinite game, like...
Covid-19 shutdown shows virtual courts work better
May 28, 2020
This rapid uptake of remote courts prompts several fundamental questions. Is court a service or a place? Do people really need to gather together in buildings to settle legal disputes? Until a few weeks ago, most judges and lawyers rejected the idea of non-physical courts, denying that remote hearings could be fair or even technically feasible. I used to think that high cultural barriers meant it would take a decade for courts to embrace technology fully. Then the virus came, courts closed, and it only...
May 28, 2020
This rapid uptake of remote courts prompts several fundamental questions. Is court a service or a place? Do people really need to gather together in buildings to settle legal disputes? Until a few weeks ago, most judges and lawyers rejected the idea of non-physical courts, denying that remote hearings could be fair or even technically feasible. I used to think that high cultural barriers meant it would take a decade for courts to embrace technology fully. Then the virus came, courts closed, and it only...
Making Connection as Critical Moves in Negotiation
May 27, 2020
Using transcripts from the Program on Negotiation’s Great Negotiator Award seminars, as well as teaching cases based on the work of the Great Negotiators, this article analyzes how several of these Great Negotiators worked to make connections and establish good working relationships with their negotiating counterparts. Connection requires taking on a stance of curiosity about one's counterparts, cultivating good relationships as a way to learn about them and their priorities, using moves that...
May 27, 2020
Using transcripts from the Program on Negotiation’s Great Negotiator Award seminars, as well as teaching cases based on the work of the Great Negotiators, this article analyzes how several of these Great Negotiators worked to make connections and establish good working relationships with their negotiating counterparts. Connection requires taking on a stance of curiosity about one's counterparts, cultivating good relationships as a way to learn about them and their priorities, using moves that...
Remote Arbitration Best Practices: Technology
May 25, 2020
Over the last few weeks, numerous organizations have issued guidance on conducting remote arbitration through video teleconferencing. While the organizations offer many of the same recommendations, each guidance is varied and has different points of emphasis, making it difficult to identify generally agreed upon recommendations. In order to assist practitioners and arbitrators, Disputing has analyzed guidance documents from the AAA, CIArb, CPR, Hogan Lovells, and the ICC,...
May 25, 2020
Over the last few weeks, numerous organizations have issued guidance on conducting remote arbitration through video teleconferencing. While the organizations offer many of the same recommendations, each guidance is varied and has different points of emphasis, making it difficult to identify generally agreed upon recommendations. In order to assist practitioners and arbitrators, Disputing has analyzed guidance documents from the AAA, CIArb, CPR, Hogan Lovells, and the ICC,...
