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Reciprocity: Are Toddlers Noble Savages?
January 11, 2015
The bluestreak cleaner wrasse is a trusting fish. When a large predator swims into its cleaning station, the tiny wrasse will often enter the gills and mouth of the “client,” picking off ectoparasites, dead skin and stray bits of mucus. The wrasse gets a meal; the client gets cleaned; everyone wins, provided nobody bites. This is a story of direct reciprocity. Nature is full of such stories, from the grooming of Sri Lankan macaques to the sharing of blood by vampire bats. In fact, such reciprocity...
January 11, 2015
The bluestreak cleaner wrasse is a trusting fish. When a large predator swims into its cleaning station, the tiny wrasse will often enter the gills and mouth of the “client,” picking off ectoparasites, dead skin and stray bits of mucus. The wrasse gets a meal; the client gets cleaned; everyone wins, provided nobody bites. This is a story of direct reciprocity. Nature is full of such stories, from the grooming of Sri Lankan macaques to the sharing of blood by vampire bats. In fact, such reciprocity...
Oklahoma Oilman’s Ex Declines $974 Million Divorce Settlement Check
January 11, 2015
What would you do if you were offered a $974 million divorce settlement check? The ex-wife of Oklahoma oilman Harold...
January 11, 2015
What would you do if you were offered a $974 million divorce settlement check? The ex-wife of Oklahoma oilman Harold...
M.B.A. Programs Start to Follow Silicon Valley Into the Data Age
January 10, 2015
Greg Pass, the former chief technology officer of Twitter, put the matter succinctly. The M.B.A., he observed, is "a challenged brand." That's because the degree suggests a person steeped in finance and corporate strategy rather than in the digital-age arts of speed and constant experimentation — and in skills like A/B testing, rapid prototyping and data-driven decision making, the bread and butter of Silicon Valley. Those skills are not just for high-tech start-ups. They are required now in every...
January 10, 2015
Greg Pass, the former chief technology officer of Twitter, put the matter succinctly. The M.B.A., he observed, is "a challenged brand." That's because the degree suggests a person steeped in finance and corporate strategy rather than in the digital-age arts of speed and constant experimentation — and in skills like A/B testing, rapid prototyping and data-driven decision making, the bread and butter of Silicon Valley. Those skills are not just for high-tech start-ups. They are required now in every...
LegalZoom Gets OK to Operate in UK
January 10, 2015
An online purveyor of self-help legal documents such as living trusts and wills has gotten a green light to operate in the United...
January 10, 2015
An online purveyor of self-help legal documents such as living trusts and wills has gotten a green light to operate in the United...
Technology Could Replace Lawyers By 2030
January 10, 2015
According to a report by Jomati Consultants LLP, artificial intelligence and robotics will change the entire legal landscape in by 2030. The founder of the British-based legal consulting firm, Tony Williams, says that law firms will see almost all of their process work handled by robots. This will revolutionize the industry, “completely upending the traditional associate leverage model.” Although the report heavily favors technology, not everyone is on board with the idea the legal structure...
January 10, 2015
According to a report by Jomati Consultants LLP, artificial intelligence and robotics will change the entire legal landscape in by 2030. The founder of the British-based legal consulting firm, Tony Williams, says that law firms will see almost all of their process work handled by robots. This will revolutionize the industry, “completely upending the traditional associate leverage model.” Although the report heavily favors technology, not everyone is on board with the idea the legal structure...
Online Dispute Resolution is Gaining Traction
January 9, 2015
“Turning now to online dispute resolution, which is something I thought would take off far more quickly than it actually has. Way back in 2001, I wrote an article about services offering ODR, almost all of which are now defunct. That is finally changing, with ODR gaining broader acceptance, as evidenced by the recent announcement by Modria.com that its ODR platform was recently adopted by the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals to provide an online resolution center for cases there. ‘Taxpayers, agents,...
January 9, 2015
“Turning now to online dispute resolution, which is something I thought would take off far more quickly than it actually has. Way back in 2001, I wrote an article about services offering ODR, almost all of which are now defunct. That is finally changing, with ODR gaining broader acceptance, as evidenced by the recent announcement by Modria.com that its ODR platform was recently adopted by the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals to provide an online resolution center for cases there. ‘Taxpayers, agents,...
Guy Who Never Signed Arbitration Agreement Can Not Be Forced into Arbitration
January 9, 2015
Really? This is a thing now? The District Court held that a company can bind a consumer to an arbitration provision and class action waiver in a rolling contract of adhesion. Fortunately, the Ninth Circuit didn't buy it, but why is it even a close call? In November 2011, Erik Knutson bought a Toyota which came with a 90-day subscription to Siriux XM Radio (Sirius). About a month into his trial subscription, Sirius sent Knutson a "welcome kit." That welcome kit included a customer agreement...
January 9, 2015
Really? This is a thing now? The District Court held that a company can bind a consumer to an arbitration provision and class action waiver in a rolling contract of adhesion. Fortunately, the Ninth Circuit didn't buy it, but why is it even a close call? In November 2011, Erik Knutson bought a Toyota which came with a 90-day subscription to Siriux XM Radio (Sirius). About a month into his trial subscription, Sirius sent Knutson a "welcome kit." That welcome kit included a customer agreement...
Oral Agreement Reached in Mediation Is Enforceable in Pennsylvania
January 9, 2015
When the parties failed to agree on the terms of a written settlement agreement following mediation, a federal court applying Pennsylvania law enforced an oral agreement reached in mediation, without any discussion of mediation confidentiality. Bayer v. CitiMortgage, Inc., No. 3:11-CV-02105 (U.S.D.C. M.D. Pa., August 22, 2014)
January 9, 2015
When the parties failed to agree on the terms of a written settlement agreement following mediation, a federal court applying Pennsylvania law enforced an oral agreement reached in mediation, without any discussion of mediation confidentiality. Bayer v. CitiMortgage, Inc., No. 3:11-CV-02105 (U.S.D.C. M.D. Pa., August 22, 2014)
Joint Sessions Redux
January 8, 2015
Joint sessions have suddenly shown up as a hot topic again. The fall issue of the ABA Dispute Resolution magazine features an article by Eric Galton and Tracy Allen alarmingly called "Don't Torch the Joint Session," which decries the "disturbing trend" of eliminating the joint session from mediation. LA mediator Lynne Bassis has an article in the same issue entitled "Face-to-face Sessions Fade Away." And New Zealand mediator Geoff Sharp on the Kluwer Mediation Blog has written a piece with the strange...
January 8, 2015
Joint sessions have suddenly shown up as a hot topic again. The fall issue of the ABA Dispute Resolution magazine features an article by Eric Galton and Tracy Allen alarmingly called "Don't Torch the Joint Session," which decries the "disturbing trend" of eliminating the joint session from mediation. LA mediator Lynne Bassis has an article in the same issue entitled "Face-to-face Sessions Fade Away." And New Zealand mediator Geoff Sharp on the Kluwer Mediation Blog has written a piece with the strange...
Write It To Let Go Of It
January 8, 2015
There has been much discussed and written in mediation literature that one of the major benefits of mediation is the cathartic effect of telling a story to a neutral person. Unfortunately, for some experiences the cathartic effect of telling someone a story may not be enough. In those cases, it might be helpful to consider having your client express his or her feelings in writing. As early as 1895, Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud wrote about the cathartic effect of writing one’s feelings down...
January 8, 2015
There has been much discussed and written in mediation literature that one of the major benefits of mediation is the cathartic effect of telling a story to a neutral person. Unfortunately, for some experiences the cathartic effect of telling someone a story may not be enough. In those cases, it might be helpful to consider having your client express his or her feelings in writing. As early as 1895, Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud wrote about the cathartic effect of writing one’s feelings down...
