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Texas’s Limits on Arbitration Clauses in Medical Contracts Struck Down
April 7, 2015
In the past decade, it only seemed that the Texas Supreme Court had already decided every permutation of health-care liability claim and every challenge to an arbitration clause. What happens when one case presents both — a challenge to the Texas law that restricts doctors and other health-care providers who might try to insert arbitration clauses in their contracts? The Texas statute is Section 74.451 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which imposes some strict requirements on any arbitration...
April 7, 2015
In the past decade, it only seemed that the Texas Supreme Court had already decided every permutation of health-care liability claim and every challenge to an arbitration clause. What happens when one case presents both — a challenge to the Texas law that restricts doctors and other health-care providers who might try to insert arbitration clauses in their contracts? The Texas statute is Section 74.451 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which imposes some strict requirements on any arbitration...
Writing About Your Emotional Pain Could Make You Feel Worse
April 6, 2015
Some of us tend to brood over painful experiences. Others distract themselves, taking on more work, for example, or watching videos. In my experience, brooders think distractors are uninsightful people avoiding their problems (read “more troubled than I am”) and distractors think brooders are wallowing, tiresome, and way more troubled. Still worse, brooding is thought to be a female failing and distraction male (some research backs this up). The judgments fly. Natasha Odou, at Australian National...
April 6, 2015
Some of us tend to brood over painful experiences. Others distract themselves, taking on more work, for example, or watching videos. In my experience, brooders think distractors are uninsightful people avoiding their problems (read “more troubled than I am”) and distractors think brooders are wallowing, tiresome, and way more troubled. Still worse, brooding is thought to be a female failing and distraction male (some research backs this up). The judgments fly. Natasha Odou, at Australian National...
Craft a Stronger Defense by Distinguishing Parody from Satire
April 6, 2015
“Parody” is a technique used by artists in various forms of entertainment, from comedians to radio disc jockeys to authors. “Parody,” in the copyright sense, generally involves using someone else’s copyright-protected work and results in copyright infringement, absent a license for the use. In some cases, however, an infringer can successfully claim “fair use” as a defense. The contours of that defense are the subject of this article. This article confines itself to parody vs. satire...
April 6, 2015
“Parody” is a technique used by artists in various forms of entertainment, from comedians to radio disc jockeys to authors. “Parody,” in the copyright sense, generally involves using someone else’s copyright-protected work and results in copyright infringement, absent a license for the use. In some cases, however, an infringer can successfully claim “fair use” as a defense. The contours of that defense are the subject of this article. This article confines itself to parody vs. satire...
Forum Selling
April 6, 2015
Forum shopping is problematic because it may lead to forum selling. For diverse motives, including prestige, local benefits,...
April 6, 2015
Forum shopping is problematic because it may lead to forum selling. For diverse motives, including prestige, local benefits,...
Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman: A Conversation
April 5, 2015
"Once you really solve a problem like direct brain-computer interface ... when brains and computers can interact directly, that's it, that's the end of history, that's the end of biology as we know it. Nobody has a clue what will happen once you solve this. If life can break out of the organic realm into the vastness of the inorganic realm, you cannot even begin to imagine what the consequences will be, because your imagination at present is organic. So if there is a point of Singularity, by definition,...
April 5, 2015
"Once you really solve a problem like direct brain-computer interface ... when brains and computers can interact directly, that's it, that's the end of history, that's the end of biology as we know it. Nobody has a clue what will happen once you solve this. If life can break out of the organic realm into the vastness of the inorganic realm, you cannot even begin to imagine what the consequences will be, because your imagination at present is organic. So if there is a point of Singularity, by definition,...
LegalZoom Thinks SCOTUS Sided With It in North Carolina Dental Board Antitrust Decision
April 5, 2015
Ruling in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission Rejects State Bars' Effort to Avoid...
April 5, 2015
Ruling in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission Rejects State Bars' Effort to Avoid...
Fund Manager’s Divorce
April 5, 2015
From CNN Money: A fund's alpha -- the measure of how much it beats the market -- falls by an annualized 8.5% around the time of a manager's marriage, according to a study released this month by University of Florida economists. The alpha dips 7.4% during a divorce. It's surprising that marriage actually does more damage to a fund manager's performance, according Dr. Sugata Ray, one of the paper's authors. Divorce has always been a red flag for savvy investors. Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones...
April 5, 2015
From CNN Money: A fund's alpha -- the measure of how much it beats the market -- falls by an annualized 8.5% around the time of a manager's marriage, according to a study released this month by University of Florida economists. The alpha dips 7.4% during a divorce. It's surprising that marriage actually does more damage to a fund manager's performance, according Dr. Sugata Ray, one of the paper's authors. Divorce has always been a red flag for savvy investors. Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones...
Value of Law Degree Drops $30K in Bad Economy
April 4, 2015
Thinking about timing law-school attendance to graduate at a financially advantageous time? Don’t bother, say two researchers who previously concluded that the present value of a law degree is about $1 million more, on average, than the value of a college degree. Graduating from law school in a bad economy has a relatively small impact on lifetime earnings relative to graduating with a bachelor’s degree, according to a preliminary draft research paper by the researchers, Rutgers University...
April 4, 2015
Thinking about timing law-school attendance to graduate at a financially advantageous time? Don’t bother, say two researchers who previously concluded that the present value of a law degree is about $1 million more, on average, than the value of a college degree. Graduating from law school in a bad economy has a relatively small impact on lifetime earnings relative to graduating with a bachelor’s degree, according to a preliminary draft research paper by the researchers, Rutgers University...
Socially Intelligent Computers can turn Difficult Negotiations into Win-win Situations
April 4, 2015
Programming fundamental social intelligence skills into software agents can make humans substantially more trusting of online negotiations, which can lead to superior outcomes in e-commerce transactions, finds a team of technology researchers, business experts and cognitive scientists. Automated software agents that bargain for the best deals on the Internet are widely used for business-to-business sales and processes. However, as people are naturally skeptical of negotiations lacking face-to-face...
April 4, 2015
Programming fundamental social intelligence skills into software agents can make humans substantially more trusting of online negotiations, which can lead to superior outcomes in e-commerce transactions, finds a team of technology researchers, business experts and cognitive scientists. Automated software agents that bargain for the best deals on the Internet are widely used for business-to-business sales and processes. However, as people are naturally skeptical of negotiations lacking face-to-face...
Best Legal Products — And Best Non-Existent Products
April 4, 2015
At her Dewey B. Strategic blog, Jean O’Grady took an unscientific but nonetheless fascinating poll of her readers to ask them...
April 4, 2015
At her Dewey B. Strategic blog, Jean O’Grady took an unscientific but nonetheless fascinating poll of her readers to ask them...
