Menu
Blog Archives
Arbitration vs. Litigation: It’s Not An Either-Or Proposition
November 11, 2015
The New York Times drew a lot of criticism, from me and others, for its three-part series on arbitration that largely ignored the wealthy special-interest group that opposes arbitration the most: Class-action lawyers. In an editorial today the Times repeats the error, equating arbitration with a “shift away from the civil justice system,” as if people with $2 disputes over their cell phones could recover any meaningful relief through a conventional lawsuit. Arbitration is part of the civil...
November 11, 2015
The New York Times drew a lot of criticism, from me and others, for its three-part series on arbitration that largely ignored the wealthy special-interest group that opposes arbitration the most: Class-action lawyers. In an editorial today the Times repeats the error, equating arbitration with a “shift away from the civil justice system,” as if people with $2 disputes over their cell phones could recover any meaningful relief through a conventional lawsuit. Arbitration is part of the civil...
Agreement to Arbitrate Employment Agreement Enforceable
November 11, 2015
In Ophthalmic Consultants of Texas, P.A. v. Morales, the Thirteenth District Court of Appeals held that the agreement to arbitrate...
November 11, 2015
In Ophthalmic Consultants of Texas, P.A. v. Morales, the Thirteenth District Court of Appeals held that the agreement to arbitrate...
Ravel Founder Discusses Partnership with Harvard to Digitize All Case Law
November 10, 2015
Following up on my post this morning about the Free the Law partnership between Harvard Law School and Ravel Law to digitize...
November 10, 2015
Following up on my post this morning about the Free the Law partnership between Harvard Law School and Ravel Law to digitize...
No, Arbitration Isn’t Evil, But Safeguards Are Needed
November 10, 2015
There seems to be a lot of confusion about arbitration. Judging by recent media accounts, it's a crooked business designed by thieves for the purpose of cheating the virtuous. Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was recently quoted in this newspaper saying, "Consumers should not be asked to sign away their legal rights when they open a banking account or credit card. Companies are using the arbitration clause as a free pass to sidestep the courts and avoid accountability...
November 10, 2015
There seems to be a lot of confusion about arbitration. Judging by recent media accounts, it's a crooked business designed by thieves for the purpose of cheating the virtuous. Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was recently quoted in this newspaper saying, "Consumers should not be asked to sign away their legal rights when they open a banking account or credit card. Companies are using the arbitration clause as a free pass to sidestep the courts and avoid accountability...
Harvard Law Library Readies Trove of Decisions for Digital Age
November 10, 2015
Shelves of law books are an august symbol of legal practice, and no place, save the Library of Congress, can match the collection at Harvard’s Law School Library. Its trove includes nearly every state, federal, territorial and tribal judicial decision since colonial times — a priceless potential resource for everyone from legal scholars to defense lawyers trying to challenge a criminal conviction. Now, in a digital-age sacrifice intended to serve grand intentions, the Harvard librarians are slicing...
November 10, 2015
Shelves of law books are an august symbol of legal practice, and no place, save the Library of Congress, can match the collection at Harvard’s Law School Library. Its trove includes nearly every state, federal, territorial and tribal judicial decision since colonial times — a priceless potential resource for everyone from legal scholars to defense lawyers trying to challenge a criminal conviction. Now, in a digital-age sacrifice intended to serve grand intentions, the Harvard librarians are slicing...
Types of Power in Negotiation
November 9, 2015
Your negotiating power depends on both objective and subjective factors Social psychologists have described different types of power that exist in society, and negotiators can leverage these types of power in negotiation as well. Two types of power spring from objective features of the bargaining process. First, power is often defined as a lack of dependence on others. This kind of power in negotiation corresponds to one’s BATNA, or best alternative to a negotiated agreement. When an individual...
November 9, 2015
Your negotiating power depends on both objective and subjective factors Social psychologists have described different types of power that exist in society, and negotiators can leverage these types of power in negotiation as well. Two types of power spring from objective features of the bargaining process. First, power is often defined as a lack of dependence on others. This kind of power in negotiation corresponds to one’s BATNA, or best alternative to a negotiated agreement. When an individual...
Punitive Damages Update
November 9, 2015
In their recent paper, Constitutional Constraints on Punitive Damages: Clarity, Consistency, and the Outlier Dilemma, Laura and William Hines (Kansas and Iowa, respectively) provide a helpful post-State Farm picture of punitive damages activity in state and federal courts from 2003-2013. To this end, the paper looks to data (507 punitive damages cases from state and federal courts) to assess the degree to which punitive damages incorporate past Supreme Court guidance on Due Process Clause implications....
November 9, 2015
In their recent paper, Constitutional Constraints on Punitive Damages: Clarity, Consistency, and the Outlier Dilemma, Laura and William Hines (Kansas and Iowa, respectively) provide a helpful post-State Farm picture of punitive damages activity in state and federal courts from 2003-2013. To this end, the paper looks to data (507 punitive damages cases from state and federal courts) to assess the degree to which punitive damages incorporate past Supreme Court guidance on Due Process Clause implications....
A Look at Age Discrimination in the Workplace
November 9, 2015
The New York Times took a look in a recent article at the continuing problem of age discrimination in the workplace. The article examined the overall rise in age discrimination charge filings with the EEOC, as well as some of the possible causes for this persistent problem. The article notes that experts believe it to be "a common phenomenon that will increase with millennials eager to enter the workforce and baby boomers reluctant to leave it." As we often discuss in our employment discrimination...
November 9, 2015
The New York Times took a look in a recent article at the continuing problem of age discrimination in the workplace. The article examined the overall rise in age discrimination charge filings with the EEOC, as well as some of the possible causes for this persistent problem. The article notes that experts believe it to be "a common phenomenon that will increase with millennials eager to enter the workforce and baby boomers reluctant to leave it." As we often discuss in our employment discrimination...
Managing Conflict 4.0: The New Wave of Opportunities for Businesses Around the Globe
November 8, 2015
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and the Dispute Resolution Law Journal present a two-day conference dealing with...
November 8, 2015
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and the Dispute Resolution Law Journal present a two-day conference dealing with...
How to Predict if a New Business Idea is Any Good
November 8, 2015
Uncanny ability to pick winners Analyzing the data along with MIT VMS’s Roman Lubynsky, the researchers found that overall, in fact, the mentors had an uncanny ability to predict the success of ideas. Compared to an average venture, which attracted interest from six mentors, a venture that attracted twice as much interest was 27 percent more likely to commercialize (which Shu and her colleagues defined as having multiple repeated sales, an Amazon storefront, or a technology licensing, among...
November 8, 2015
Uncanny ability to pick winners Analyzing the data along with MIT VMS’s Roman Lubynsky, the researchers found that overall, in fact, the mentors had an uncanny ability to predict the success of ideas. Compared to an average venture, which attracted interest from six mentors, a venture that attracted twice as much interest was 27 percent more likely to commercialize (which Shu and her colleagues defined as having multiple repeated sales, an Amazon storefront, or a technology licensing, among...
