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Tom Brady: “We have all lost”
October 9, 2015
Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady’s sentiments about the ordeal of “Deflategate”, a story and a litigation that needlessly lingered around for seven months, reflects Abraham Lincoln’s sentiments over 150 years ago. Brady’s statement, reported recently in TIME magazine, came after he won his appeal of the NFL’s decision to suspend him for four games for his alleged “general knowledge” about the team deflating footballs below the league’s range of inflation during a playoff game. Brady’s...
October 9, 2015
Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady’s sentiments about the ordeal of “Deflategate”, a story and a litigation that needlessly lingered around for seven months, reflects Abraham Lincoln’s sentiments over 150 years ago. Brady’s statement, reported recently in TIME magazine, came after he won his appeal of the NFL’s decision to suspend him for four games for his alleged “general knowledge” about the team deflating footballs below the league’s range of inflation during a playoff game. Brady’s...
Helping Your Client Cope With Losing a Job
October 9, 2015
Employment litigation is one of the most common areas of litigation. In addition, in general it is an extremely emotionally difficult area to litigate because of the significant emotions on both sides. For that reason, it’s an area of law that’s well suited for negotiation or mediation, given the time, expense and emotional cost a trial can inflict. It is important to understand that when employees lose their job, they suffer grief over the loss. That grief can create major emotional barriers...
October 9, 2015
Employment litigation is one of the most common areas of litigation. In addition, in general it is an extremely emotionally difficult area to litigate because of the significant emotions on both sides. For that reason, it’s an area of law that’s well suited for negotiation or mediation, given the time, expense and emotional cost a trial can inflict. It is important to understand that when employees lose their job, they suffer grief over the loss. That grief can create major emotional barriers...
Why Are So Many Law Firms Trapped in 1995?
October 8, 2015
After I graduated from law school, my first assignment at a large New York law firm was to assist in the discovery phase...
October 8, 2015
After I graduated from law school, my first assignment at a large New York law firm was to assist in the discovery phase...
CFPB to Propose Rule Banning Enforcement of Class Action Waivers
October 8, 2015
Today, the CFPB issued a statement indicating that they are going to propose a rule that would prohibit the financial services...
October 8, 2015
Today, the CFPB issued a statement indicating that they are going to propose a rule that would prohibit the financial services...
Mediating for the Long Game
October 8, 2015
In recent weeks, I have had the privilege of mediating and facilitating in different matters with representatives of four governments . On one occasion they were on the same “side”; on another, notionally on different sides. A common theme to emerge was the needs and behaviours of political masters who were not present. The representatives themselves were very aware of the need to try and build good relationships with their opposite numbers. That required a degree of honesty about the political...
October 8, 2015
In recent weeks, I have had the privilege of mediating and facilitating in different matters with representatives of four governments . On one occasion they were on the same “side”; on another, notionally on different sides. A common theme to emerge was the needs and behaviours of political masters who were not present. The representatives themselves were very aware of the need to try and build good relationships with their opposite numbers. That required a degree of honesty about the political...
Say Goodbye to Mandatory Arbitration—And Hello to Class Actions
October 7, 2015
Mandatory arbitration as we know it is on the way out. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday announced that...
October 7, 2015
Mandatory arbitration as we know it is on the way out. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday announced that...
SCOTUS Selects Second Arbitration Case For 2015 Term
October 7, 2015
2015 has been a dry spell in arbitration decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, but 2016 promises to be much more interesting. In addition to the California case being heard next week, SCOTUS just granted certiorari in another California-based arbitration decision. This one, MHN Government Services, Inc. v. Zaborowski, will review an unpublished 2-1 decision of the Ninth Circuit that affirmed a district court’s refusal to compel arbitration. The beautifully succinct question presented is “whether...
October 7, 2015
2015 has been a dry spell in arbitration decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, but 2016 promises to be much more interesting. In addition to the California case being heard next week, SCOTUS just granted certiorari in another California-based arbitration decision. This one, MHN Government Services, Inc. v. Zaborowski, will review an unpublished 2-1 decision of the Ninth Circuit that affirmed a district court’s refusal to compel arbitration. The beautifully succinct question presented is “whether...
Customized Procedure in Theory and Reality
October 7, 2015
Mark C. Weidemaier, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Law, has published “Customized Procedure in Theory and Reality,” Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 72, No. 4, 2015. In his scholarly article, Professor Weidemaier analyzes procedural autonomy and dispute resolution practices in the context of commercial contracts. Here is the abstract: Contract theory has long posited that parties can maximize contract value by specifying the procedural...
October 7, 2015
Mark C. Weidemaier, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Law, has published “Customized Procedure in Theory and Reality,” Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 72, No. 4, 2015. In his scholarly article, Professor Weidemaier analyzes procedural autonomy and dispute resolution practices in the context of commercial contracts. Here is the abstract: Contract theory has long posited that parties can maximize contract value by specifying the procedural...
Which States Had Greatest Growth in Lawyer Population?
October 6, 2015
Is Texas’ 28 percent growth in lawyer population over the last decade all that unusual? Stories in the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the Dallas Morning News reported on the number, which represents the growth in the active lawyer population from 2004 to 2014. That compares to a 20 percent increase in the state’s general population over the same time period. But ABA figures (PDF) show the state’s growth in lawyer population is outpaced by 10 other states. Overall, lawyer population...
October 6, 2015
Is Texas’ 28 percent growth in lawyer population over the last decade all that unusual? Stories in the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the Dallas Morning News reported on the number, which represents the growth in the active lawyer population from 2004 to 2014. That compares to a 20 percent increase in the state’s general population over the same time period. But ABA figures (PDF) show the state’s growth in lawyer population is outpaced by 10 other states. Overall, lawyer population...
Imre Szalai on Cert Grant in Arbitration Case
October 6, 2015
I'm cross-posting here Imre Szalai's email out to the ADR Listserv: Today, the Supreme Court granted cert in yet another FAA case. In this new case, MHN Government Services v. Zaborowski, the Supreme Court will have to deal with the broad scope of FAA preemption as set forth in Concepcion. Concepción is much more than a class action case. The preemption doctrine from Concepción is changing how lower courts treat unconscionability arguments in connection with individual, non-class disputes....
October 6, 2015
I'm cross-posting here Imre Szalai's email out to the ADR Listserv: Today, the Supreme Court granted cert in yet another FAA case. In this new case, MHN Government Services v. Zaborowski, the Supreme Court will have to deal with the broad scope of FAA preemption as set forth in Concepcion. Concepción is much more than a class action case. The preemption doctrine from Concepción is changing how lower courts treat unconscionability arguments in connection with individual, non-class disputes....
