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CPR Forges the Future, Redefines “Winning,” at Annual Meeting
March 4, 2015
The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) held its 2015 Annual Meeting on Feb. 19-21, 2015,...
March 4, 2015
The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) held its 2015 Annual Meeting on Feb. 19-21, 2015,...
Ninth Circuit Grants Mandamus to Vacate Order Disqualifying Arbitrator
March 4, 2015
In In Re Sussex, No. 14-70158 (9th Cir. Jan. 27, 2015), the Ninth Circuit determined that the district court erred in holding that its decision to intervene mid-arbitration was justified under Aerojet-General Corp. v. Am Arbitration Ass’n, 478 F.2d 248 (9th Cir. 1973). Specifically, the panel held that the district court erred in predicting that an award issued by the arbitrator would likely be vacated because of his evident partiality under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(2). The panel...
March 4, 2015
In In Re Sussex, No. 14-70158 (9th Cir. Jan. 27, 2015), the Ninth Circuit determined that the district court erred in holding that its decision to intervene mid-arbitration was justified under Aerojet-General Corp. v. Am Arbitration Ass’n, 478 F.2d 248 (9th Cir. 1973). Specifically, the panel held that the district court erred in predicting that an award issued by the arbitrator would likely be vacated because of his evident partiality under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(2). The panel...
It is All in Your Perspective!
March 4, 2015
The December 2014 edition of The Atlantic contains an interesting article entitled “The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis”...
March 4, 2015
The December 2014 edition of The Atlantic contains an interesting article entitled “The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis”...
Early Labor and Employment Supreme Court Decisions
March 3, 2015
Last week, the Supreme Court decided two labor and employment cases. In one, M&G Polymers, a unanimous Supreme Court held that courts should apply ordinary contract principles when deciding whether health-care benefits survive the expiration of a collective-bargaining agreement. This holding reversed the Sixth Circuit's Yard-Man presumption that CBAs intend these benefits to vest for life. The Court remanded for the CBA to be interpreted by "ordinary contract principles," but ominously noted that...
March 3, 2015
Last week, the Supreme Court decided two labor and employment cases. In one, M&G Polymers, a unanimous Supreme Court held that courts should apply ordinary contract principles when deciding whether health-care benefits survive the expiration of a collective-bargaining agreement. This holding reversed the Sixth Circuit's Yard-Man presumption that CBAs intend these benefits to vest for life. The Court remanded for the CBA to be interpreted by "ordinary contract principles," but ominously noted that...
Southern District of New York: “If You Want Strict Application of the Law, Don’t Agree to Arbitration Clauses”
March 3, 2015
A federal judge in the Southern District of New York recently denied a motion to vacate an arbitration award in a reinsurance dispute, scolding the movant for complaining that the arbitrators reached a compromise verdict. The movant, the ceding insurer, argued that two of the three members of the arbitration panel had engaged in “manifest disregard of the law” by failing to properly apply the “follow the fortunes” doctrine when they disallowed reimbursement for several claims. The movant...
March 3, 2015
A federal judge in the Southern District of New York recently denied a motion to vacate an arbitration award in a reinsurance dispute, scolding the movant for complaining that the arbitrators reached a compromise verdict. The movant, the ceding insurer, argued that two of the three members of the arbitration panel had engaged in “manifest disregard of the law” by failing to properly apply the “follow the fortunes” doctrine when they disallowed reimbursement for several claims. The movant...
Dispute Resolution of a New Generation
March 3, 2015
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms such as Arbitration have long been the main source of relief for international...
March 3, 2015
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms such as Arbitration have long been the main source of relief for international...
Legal Analytics – Introduction to the Course – Katz + Bommarito
March 2, 2015
Here is an introductory slide deck from “Legal Analytics” which is a course that Mike Bommarito and I are teaching this semester. Relevant legal applications include predictive coding in e-discovery (i.e. classification), early case assessment and overall case prediction, pricing and staff forecasting, prediction of judicial behavior, etc. As I have written in my recent article in Emory Law Journal – we are moving into an era of data driven law practice. This course is a direct response...
March 2, 2015
Here is an introductory slide deck from “Legal Analytics” which is a course that Mike Bommarito and I are teaching this semester. Relevant legal applications include predictive coding in e-discovery (i.e. classification), early case assessment and overall case prediction, pricing and staff forecasting, prediction of judicial behavior, etc. As I have written in my recent article in Emory Law Journal – we are moving into an era of data driven law practice. This course is a direct response...
Fifth Circuit Un-Vacates Arbitration Award, Offering Guidance to District Courts
March 2, 2015
“When an arbitration goes an opponent’s way on the basis of questionable contract interpretation, parties often seek refuge in [Section] 10(a)(4). But the Supreme Court has made clear that district courts’ review of arbitrators’ awards under [that Section] is limited to the ‘sole question… of whether the arbitrator (even arguably) interpreted the parties contract.'” Those two sentences of the Fifth Circuit’s recent opinion in BNSF Railway Co. v. Alstom Transportation, Inc., __F.3d__,...
March 2, 2015
“When an arbitration goes an opponent’s way on the basis of questionable contract interpretation, parties often seek refuge in [Section] 10(a)(4). But the Supreme Court has made clear that district courts’ review of arbitrators’ awards under [that Section] is limited to the ‘sole question… of whether the arbitrator (even arguably) interpreted the parties contract.'” Those two sentences of the Fifth Circuit’s recent opinion in BNSF Railway Co. v. Alstom Transportation, Inc., __F.3d__,...
How Long Does a Divorce Last in Orlando?
March 2, 2015
Premonition recently completed a study of 24,507 divorce cases, the results are very interesting, the answer is in the choice...
March 2, 2015
Premonition recently completed a study of 24,507 divorce cases, the results are very interesting, the answer is in the choice...
Why We Judge Algorithmic Mistakes More Harshly Than Human Mistakes (via NPR)
March 1, 2015
In many areas, algorithms make fewer mistakes than humans. But new research suggests that we distrust algorithms when they make mistakes, in ways we do not distrust humans who make mistakes. This feels like a time - doesn't it? - when we might want to consider how much computers direct our lives. Computer programs, or algorithms, decide so much for us already. An algorithm is basically this set of instructions for a computer, kind of like the one in your thermostat. If the temperature falls below,...
March 1, 2015
In many areas, algorithms make fewer mistakes than humans. But new research suggests that we distrust algorithms when they make mistakes, in ways we do not distrust humans who make mistakes. This feels like a time - doesn't it? - when we might want to consider how much computers direct our lives. Computer programs, or algorithms, decide so much for us already. An algorithm is basically this set of instructions for a computer, kind of like the one in your thermostat. If the temperature falls below,...
