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Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Finance and Investor Contracts
November 4, 2015
Michael S. Barr, Roy F. and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, has published “Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Finance and Investor Contracts,” New York University Journal of Law and Business, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2015. In his article, Professor Barr argues that federal agencies should use their authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to restrict or eliminate the use of arbitration provisions in consumer finance and investment contracts. Here is the abstract: Mandatory...
November 4, 2015
Michael S. Barr, Roy F. and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, has published “Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Finance and Investor Contracts,” New York University Journal of Law and Business, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2015. In his article, Professor Barr argues that federal agencies should use their authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to restrict or eliminate the use of arbitration provisions in consumer finance and investment contracts. Here is the abstract: Mandatory...
“Older Workers” Do Not Have To Arbitrate Statutory Employment Claim
November 4, 2015
Arbitration is having its 15 minutes of fame. Thanks to a series in the New York Times, my inbox is full of links to the articles, questions about the information, and fascinating commentary. [Next time I am in Oakland, I am totally having the “Scalia” cocktail at Italian Colors.] With the far-reaching audience of the NYT, the policy questions surrounding waivers of class arbitration are no longer just a conversation among in-house counsel, advocates, and law professors, but reached the general...
November 4, 2015
Arbitration is having its 15 minutes of fame. Thanks to a series in the New York Times, my inbox is full of links to the articles, questions about the information, and fascinating commentary. [Next time I am in Oakland, I am totally having the “Scalia” cocktail at Italian Colors.] With the far-reaching audience of the NYT, the policy questions surrounding waivers of class arbitration are no longer just a conversation among in-house counsel, advocates, and law professors, but reached the general...
In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law
November 4, 2015
For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death. Customers who buy bamboo floors from Higuera Hardwoods in Washington State must take any dispute before a Christian arbitrator, according to the company’s website. Carolina Cabin Rentals, which rents high-end vacation properties in the Blue Ridge...
November 4, 2015
For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death. Customers who buy bamboo floors from Higuera Hardwoods in Washington State must take any dispute before a Christian arbitrator, according to the company’s website. Carolina Cabin Rentals, which rents high-end vacation properties in the Blue Ridge...
Anger Works, But Not In Competitive Negotiations
November 3, 2015
The Rationality of Rage. NEW YORK TIMES. Expressing anger is known to be a useful tool in negotiations. Indeed, in the past few years, researchers have been learning more about when and how to deploy anger productively. Consider a forthcoming paper in the November issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Researchers tested the effectiveness of expressing anger in three types of negotiations: those that are chiefly cooperative (starting a business with a partner), chiefly competitive...
November 3, 2015
The Rationality of Rage. NEW YORK TIMES. Expressing anger is known to be a useful tool in negotiations. Indeed, in the past few years, researchers have been learning more about when and how to deploy anger productively. Consider a forthcoming paper in the November issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Researchers tested the effectiveness of expressing anger in three types of negotiations: those that are chiefly cooperative (starting a business with a partner), chiefly competitive...
Types of Political Risk Leading to Investment Arbitrations in the Oil & Gas Sector
November 3, 2015
It is often believed that investment arbitrations are filed because some form of political risk materialized, harming the investor’s interests. This is the hypothesis that the authors examine in this article, focusing on the oil & gas sector. They analyze which types of political risk, present in the host state, eventually lead oil & gas investors to file investment arbitration claims against that state. They find statistical evidence supporting the idea that bad governance and economic nationalism...
November 3, 2015
It is often believed that investment arbitrations are filed because some form of political risk materialized, harming the investor’s interests. This is the hypothesis that the authors examine in this article, focusing on the oil & gas sector. They analyze which types of political risk, present in the host state, eventually lead oil & gas investors to file investment arbitration claims against that state. They find statistical evidence supporting the idea that bad governance and economic nationalism...
Getting What You Need
November 3, 2015
Mediators often think about how we can get parties into a different frame of mind. When the current mindset is not allowing for settlement, and we can’t sufficiently address parties’ emotion through empathic and active listening or other methods to satisfy emotional needs, what can be done? It is the nature of some people to merely focus on the here and now; thinking long term is hard for them. But sometimes they need to focus on the long term. How do we help them do that when it is not in their...
November 3, 2015
Mediators often think about how we can get parties into a different frame of mind. When the current mindset is not allowing for settlement, and we can’t sufficiently address parties’ emotion through empathic and active listening or other methods to satisfy emotional needs, what can be done? It is the nature of some people to merely focus on the here and now; thinking long term is hard for them. But sometimes they need to focus on the long term. How do we help them do that when it is not in their...
We’re So Predictable: Algorithm Can Predict Human Behavior Better Than Humans
November 2, 2015
You might presume, or at least hope, that humans are better at understanding fellow humans than machines are. But a new MIT study...
November 2, 2015
You might presume, or at least hope, that humans are better at understanding fellow humans than machines are. But a new MIT study...
Wrestling with the Endowment Effect, or How to Do Law and Economics Without the Coase Theorem
November 2, 2015
This chapter, written for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Economics and the Law, describes the endowment effect,...
November 2, 2015
This chapter, written for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Economics and the Law, describes the endowment effect,...
In Arbitration, a ‘Privatization of the Justice System’
November 2, 2015
Over the last 10 years, thousands of businesses across the country — from big corporations to storefront shops — have used arbitration to create an alternate system of justice. There, rules tend to favor businesses, and judges and juries have been replaced by arbitrators who commonly consider the companies their clients, The Times found. The change has been swift and virtually unnoticed, even though it has meant that tens of millions of Americans have lost a fundamental right: their day in court. “This...
November 2, 2015
Over the last 10 years, thousands of businesses across the country — from big corporations to storefront shops — have used arbitration to create an alternate system of justice. There, rules tend to favor businesses, and judges and juries have been replaced by arbitrators who commonly consider the companies their clients, The Times found. The change has been swift and virtually unnoticed, even though it has meant that tens of millions of Americans have lost a fundamental right: their day in court. “This...
Microsoft Co-Founder Launches $500 Million Quest to Build an Artificial Brain
November 1, 2015
Paul Allen has been waiting for the emergence of intelligent machines for a very long time. As a young boy, Allen spent much of his time in the library reading science-fiction novels in which robots manage our homes, perform surgery and fly around saving lives like superheroes. In his imagination, these beings would live among us, serving as our advisers, companions and friends. Now 62 and worth an estimated $17.7 billion, the Microsoft co-founder is using his wealth to back two separate philanthropic...
November 1, 2015
Paul Allen has been waiting for the emergence of intelligent machines for a very long time. As a young boy, Allen spent much of his time in the library reading science-fiction novels in which robots manage our homes, perform surgery and fly around saving lives like superheroes. In his imagination, these beings would live among us, serving as our advisers, companions and friends. Now 62 and worth an estimated $17.7 billion, the Microsoft co-founder is using his wealth to back two separate philanthropic...
