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Ingredients of a Successful Track Two Negotiation
February 11, 2016
During three days in 2003, an Israeli–Palestinian group met in London to negotiate the draft of the “Geneva Initiative,” which offered a potential final status agreement between Israel and Palestine. In this article, I analyze the video recording of these unofficial negotiations and examine how the framing and conduct of the talks enabled significant progress toward reaching an agreement. I describe six main framing techniques used by the mediators: calling the meetings an “exercise,”...
February 11, 2016
During three days in 2003, an Israeli–Palestinian group met in London to negotiate the draft of the “Geneva Initiative,” which offered a potential final status agreement between Israel and Palestine. In this article, I analyze the video recording of these unofficial negotiations and examine how the framing and conduct of the talks enabled significant progress toward reaching an agreement. I describe six main framing techniques used by the mediators: calling the meetings an “exercise,”...
Law Firms Risk Obsolescence By Following Kodak’s Path
February 11, 2016
New York Times: Law Firms Risking Obsolescence, Report Says, by Elizabeth Olson: As the legal industry faces sluggish demand for services, weakened pricing power and falling productivity, a new report is warning that the country’s law firms are failing to make “bold, proactive changes.” The report, compiled annually by the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center, said that firms needed to overcome resistance to change and even shake up the partnership...
February 11, 2016
New York Times: Law Firms Risking Obsolescence, Report Says, by Elizabeth Olson: As the legal industry faces sluggish demand for services, weakened pricing power and falling productivity, a new report is warning that the country’s law firms are failing to make “bold, proactive changes.” The report, compiled annually by the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center, said that firms needed to overcome resistance to change and even shake up the partnership...
Law Firms Risking Obsolescence, Report Says
February 11, 2016
As the legal industry faces sluggish demand for services, weakened pricing power and falling productivity, a new report is warning that the country’s law firms are failing to make “bold, proactive changes.” The report, compiled annually by the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center, said that firms needed to overcome resistance to change and even shake up the partnership structure if they are to thrive. Comparing the situation to the Eastman...
February 11, 2016
As the legal industry faces sluggish demand for services, weakened pricing power and falling productivity, a new report is warning that the country’s law firms are failing to make “bold, proactive changes.” The report, compiled annually by the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center, said that firms needed to overcome resistance to change and even shake up the partnership structure if they are to thrive. Comparing the situation to the Eastman...
State of the Legal Market – Conclusion
February 10, 2016
Few observers of the legal market would disagree that, at least since 2008, the market has changed in fundamental ways. Not only has demand growth slowed dramatically, but the competitive dynamics of the market have shifted as well. Clients who once deferred to their outside law firms on all key decisions impacting the legal services they purchased no longer do so. Instead, clients increasingly demand that outside counsel offer more efficient services with more transparency into both work processes...
February 10, 2016
Few observers of the legal market would disagree that, at least since 2008, the market has changed in fundamental ways. Not only has demand growth slowed dramatically, but the competitive dynamics of the market have shifted as well. Clients who once deferred to their outside law firms on all key decisions impacting the legal services they purchased no longer do so. Instead, clients increasingly demand that outside counsel offer more efficient services with more transparency into both work processes...
Thinking about the Future and the Need for Action by Mediators (3/3)
February 10, 2016
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light,...
February 10, 2016
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light,...
Thinking about the Future and the Need for Action by Mediators (2/3)
February 10, 2016
Change will come, as it has to. The only real question is how? Will it herald a new order or disastrous disorder? What we see already with mass migration, which has assumed prominence even in recent months, is a clear indication of the challenges we face. What has all this got to do with mediation? Well, as it seems to me, everything, not least because all of these considerations are what we mediators learn and work with already in our day-to-day practices. So what should we do about any of this?...
February 10, 2016
Change will come, as it has to. The only real question is how? Will it herald a new order or disastrous disorder? What we see already with mass migration, which has assumed prominence even in recent months, is a clear indication of the challenges we face. What has all this got to do with mediation? Well, as it seems to me, everything, not least because all of these considerations are what we mediators learn and work with already in our day-to-day practices. So what should we do about any of this?...
State of the Legal Market – Fixation on Growth versus Market Differentiation and Profitability
February 9, 2016
In the face of the significant shifts in market dynamics that have impacted the legal industry since 2008, perhaps the most noticeable trend has been an apparent fixation on growth, as many firms appear to have adopted growth as their primary strategy. Law firm mergers and lateral acquisitions have surged in recent years. Indeed, through December 3, 2015, Altman Weil reported there had been 84 mergers involving U.S. law firms, the largest number since the consultancy began tracking merger activity nine...
February 9, 2016
In the face of the significant shifts in market dynamics that have impacted the legal industry since 2008, perhaps the most noticeable trend has been an apparent fixation on growth, as many firms appear to have adopted growth as their primary strategy. Law firm mergers and lateral acquisitions have surged in recent years. Indeed, through December 3, 2015, Altman Weil reported there had been 84 mergers involving U.S. law firms, the largest number since the consultancy began tracking merger activity nine...
Baseball Arbitration Vacated Due to Evident Partiality
February 9, 2016
The New York Supreme Court vacated the award entered in an arbitration of television rights between Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (“MASN”), the Baltimore Orioles, the Commissioner of Baseball (“MLB”) and the Washington Nationals. The arbitration was held by the Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee of Major League Baseball (“RSDC”). MASN and the Orioles filed a petition to vacate the award, and MLB and the Nationals moved to confirm it. In vacating the award, the court discussed various...
February 9, 2016
The New York Supreme Court vacated the award entered in an arbitration of television rights between Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (“MASN”), the Baltimore Orioles, the Commissioner of Baseball (“MLB”) and the Washington Nationals. The arbitration was held by the Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee of Major League Baseball (“RSDC”). MASN and the Orioles filed a petition to vacate the award, and MLB and the Nationals moved to confirm it. In vacating the award, the court discussed various...
Sheley and Frank on Prospective Injunctive Relief and Class Action Settlements
February 9, 2016
Professor Erin Sheley (Calgary Law) and Theodore Frank (Competitive Enterprise Institute) have posted to SSRN their article, Prospective Injunctive Relief and Class Action Settlements, Harv. J. L. & Pub. Pol'y (forthcoming). Here is the abstract: Despite much controversy and criticism, the class action is alive and well. In particular, the injunctive remedy, requiring the defendant to change some aspect of its business practice, has become a common feature of class action settlements. This article...
February 9, 2016
Professor Erin Sheley (Calgary Law) and Theodore Frank (Competitive Enterprise Institute) have posted to SSRN their article, Prospective Injunctive Relief and Class Action Settlements, Harv. J. L. & Pub. Pol'y (forthcoming). Here is the abstract: Despite much controversy and criticism, the class action is alive and well. In particular, the injunctive remedy, requiring the defendant to change some aspect of its business practice, has become a common feature of class action settlements. This article...
State of the Legal Market – Growing Segmentation Within Law Firm Market Share
February 8, 2016
In our 2014 Report on the State of the Legal Market, we noted that “there is now strong evidence that the U.S. legal market...
February 8, 2016
In our 2014 Report on the State of the Legal Market, we noted that “there is now strong evidence that the U.S. legal market...
