Blog Archives
GCs Become More Efficient as High Risk Class Actions Treble
March 31, 2015
The proportion of class actions which is classified as 'high risk' or 'bet-the-company' has risen from 4.5 to 16.4% in three years but general counsel are rising to the challenge and managing them more efficiently, according to new research. The research from 400-lawyer Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, in its fourth annual Class Action Survey, is based on 360 interviews with GCs. The 2015 research shows the 'dramaticaly intensified challenges' facing organisations, according to Chris S Coutroulis,...
March 31, 2015
The proportion of class actions which is classified as 'high risk' or 'bet-the-company' has risen from 4.5 to 16.4% in three years but general counsel are rising to the challenge and managing them more efficiently, according to new research. The research from 400-lawyer Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, in its fourth annual Class Action Survey, is based on 360 interviews with GCs. The 2015 research shows the 'dramaticaly intensified challenges' facing organisations, according to Chris S Coutroulis,...
Be Careful Reading Notices of Electronic Filings on Phone
March 31, 2015
Last week, a federal appellate court ruled that two law firms missed an appeal deadline in a $40 million case notwithstanding the defense that the law firms were misled by a notice of electronic filing email sent by the trial court. The decision has been the subject of quite a few news articles (such as this one in the ABA Journal) and for good reason — there is a lesson to be learned here, and attorneys who use an iPhone or other mobile device ought to know about this opinion. The decision is Two-Way...
March 31, 2015
Last week, a federal appellate court ruled that two law firms missed an appeal deadline in a $40 million case notwithstanding the defense that the law firms were misled by a notice of electronic filing email sent by the trial court. The decision has been the subject of quite a few news articles (such as this one in the ABA Journal) and for good reason — there is a lesson to be learned here, and attorneys who use an iPhone or other mobile device ought to know about this opinion. The decision is Two-Way...
Court Rules on iPhone, iPad Use
March 30, 2015
There are countless ways that an iPhone and iPad can be useful to an attorney while in court — whether you are at counsel table or just monitoring proceedings from the cheap seats in back. I often use my iPhone to look up a statute, check my calendar, get some information from an email, or remind myself of the name of another attorney in the courtroom. I often use my iPad to look at a case cited by an opponent, review the key part of an exhibit or transcript, or take notes. But you cannot do any of this...
March 30, 2015
There are countless ways that an iPhone and iPad can be useful to an attorney while in court — whether you are at counsel table or just monitoring proceedings from the cheap seats in back. I often use my iPhone to look up a statute, check my calendar, get some information from an email, or remind myself of the name of another attorney in the courtroom. I often use my iPad to look at a case cited by an opponent, review the key part of an exhibit or transcript, or take notes. But you cannot do any of this...
Dial-a-Lawyer Service Used by 200,000 US Attorneys
March 30, 2015
Some 8m people are each month visiting Avvo, the site which promises to connect consumers to a lawyer on the phone within 15 minutes - and numbers are expected to rise as a new app allows mobile callers to upload the photo of a document. Avvo was started nine years ago and is now generating 500,000 client-lawyer contacts a month. The new app enables mobile-users to show an employment contract or other document they want advice on by taking a photograph and uploading it. Avvo charges US$39 for a session...
March 30, 2015
Some 8m people are each month visiting Avvo, the site which promises to connect consumers to a lawyer on the phone within 15 minutes - and numbers are expected to rise as a new app allows mobile callers to upload the photo of a document. Avvo was started nine years ago and is now generating 500,000 client-lawyer contacts a month. The new app enables mobile-users to show an employment contract or other document they want advice on by taking a photograph and uploading it. Avvo charges US$39 for a session...
Fifth Circuit: Arbitration Panel’s Interpretation Holds “However Good, Bad, or Ugly”
March 30, 2015
In BNSF Railway Co. v. Alstom Transportation, Inc., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the district court's order which had vacated an arbitration panel's award. The Fifth Circuit held that BNSF failed to carry its burden to show that the arbitration panel was not "even arguably interpreting" a maintenance agreement with Alstom, holding that the arbitration's panel's construction of the agreement holds "however good, bad, or ugly."
March 30, 2015
In BNSF Railway Co. v. Alstom Transportation, Inc., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the district court's order which had vacated an arbitration panel's award. The Fifth Circuit held that BNSF failed to carry its burden to show that the arbitration panel was not "even arguably interpreting" a maintenance agreement with Alstom, holding that the arbitration's panel's construction of the agreement holds "however good, bad, or ugly."
Must Read: GPSOLO’s Dispute Resolution Issue
March 29, 2015
Mediation and arbitration are receiving a lot more attention these days. Even online dispute resolution has Gp_jan_feb2015_cvrgone from a concept to a reality. The January/February 2015 issue of GPSOLO magazine with its theme of Dispute Resolution is an excellent resource and highly recommended. Young lawyers and brand new lawyers should pay particular attention as this is an emerging area that may well become a significant part of many lawyer's practices. If you are a new lawyer, learning about...
March 29, 2015
Mediation and arbitration are receiving a lot more attention these days. Even online dispute resolution has Gp_jan_feb2015_cvrgone from a concept to a reality. The January/February 2015 issue of GPSOLO magazine with its theme of Dispute Resolution is an excellent resource and highly recommended. Young lawyers and brand new lawyers should pay particular attention as this is an emerging area that may well become a significant part of many lawyer's practices. If you are a new lawyer, learning about...
Learning to See Data
March 29, 2015
FOR the past year or so genetic scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have been collaborating with a specialist from another universe: Daniel Kohn, a Brooklyn-based painter and conceptual artist. Mr. Kohn has no training in computers or genetics, and he’s not there to conduct art therapy classes. His role is to help the scientists with a signature 21st-century problem: Big Data overload. Advanced computing produces waves of abstract digital data that in many cases...
March 29, 2015
FOR the past year or so genetic scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have been collaborating with a specialist from another universe: Daniel Kohn, a Brooklyn-based painter and conceptual artist. Mr. Kohn has no training in computers or genetics, and he’s not there to conduct art therapy classes. His role is to help the scientists with a signature 21st-century problem: Big Data overload. Advanced computing produces waves of abstract digital data that in many cases...
What Careers Are Tempting Would-be Lawyers?
March 29, 2015
Summary: Recent research has shown that fewer students are enrolling in legal programs, and more are joining engineering programs. Where are all the would-be lawyers going? Yes, enrollment has been down these last few years, reaching a nadir unseen since the 1970s. Fine, we can accept that, even though there are yet a lot more law schools out there than the seventies, aching for fresh minds to indoctrinate with the law. So students are getting smart and seeing that law schools have become a less...
March 29, 2015
Summary: Recent research has shown that fewer students are enrolling in legal programs, and more are joining engineering programs. Where are all the would-be lawyers going? Yes, enrollment has been down these last few years, reaching a nadir unseen since the 1970s. Fine, we can accept that, even though there are yet a lot more law schools out there than the seventies, aching for fresh minds to indoctrinate with the law. So students are getting smart and seeing that law schools have become a less...
‘Legal Rebel’ Katz to Join IIT Chicago-Kent Law
March 28, 2015
Daniel Katz, currently a professor at Michigan State University College of Law, will join the faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law in the fall of 2015. Katz was named a “Legal Rebel” in 2013 by the American Bar Association’s Journal. That year he also received a Fastcase 50 award—he was one of 50 people acknowledged by Fastcase Inc., a legal content and software provider, as “the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders...
March 28, 2015
Daniel Katz, currently a professor at Michigan State University College of Law, will join the faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law in the fall of 2015. Katz was named a “Legal Rebel” in 2013 by the American Bar Association’s Journal. That year he also received a Fastcase 50 award—he was one of 50 people acknowledged by Fastcase Inc., a legal content and software provider, as “the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders...
Internet Brands Widens Footprint in Legal with Purchase of Total Attorneys
March 28, 2015
Internet Brands, one of the world’s largest operators of websites that serve targeted vertical markets, this week widened its footprint in the legal industry with the purchase of the law practice management and marketing site Total Attorneys. Internet Brands already operates the Martindale-Hubbell lawyer directory; the Nolo legal self-help site; and the Lawyers.com, AllLaw and AttorneyLocate.com sites for helping consumers find lawyers and legal information. (Internet Brands operates Martindale.com,...
March 28, 2015
Internet Brands, one of the world’s largest operators of websites that serve targeted vertical markets, this week widened its footprint in the legal industry with the purchase of the law practice management and marketing site Total Attorneys. Internet Brands already operates the Martindale-Hubbell lawyer directory; the Nolo legal self-help site; and the Lawyers.com, AllLaw and AttorneyLocate.com sites for helping consumers find lawyers and legal information. (Internet Brands operates Martindale.com,...
