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Why Are Resolutions So Hard To Follow? Willpower Isn’t The Only Determinant of Resolution Success
January 1, 2015
While setting New Year’s resolutions is routine for many of us, research from the University of Scranton shows while 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% actually stick to them. So, why are resolutions so quickly discarded? The easy answer is because most resolutions require a change in habit. Starting a new habit is hard, and breaking a bad habit is even harder. While many of us assume that the key to changing our habits is having enough willpower, social scientist...
January 1, 2015
While setting New Year’s resolutions is routine for many of us, research from the University of Scranton shows while 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% actually stick to them. So, why are resolutions so quickly discarded? The easy answer is because most resolutions require a change in habit. Starting a new habit is hard, and breaking a bad habit is even harder. While many of us assume that the key to changing our habits is having enough willpower, social scientist...
Financial Trends To Watch For 2015
January 1, 2015
With 2014 coming to a close, many of us look forward to the possibilities of 2015—and for the financial market, the New Year may bring many things. With the legislative cycle, market regulators, industry disputes and geographical angst, 2015 will be a busy year. Below are a few topics that are likely to surface: The IRS remains a wild card. Technology fatigue sets in. Generation Y gets serious. Oil slick helps some, hurts others. Data security becomes real. See Scott Martin,...
January 1, 2015
With 2014 coming to a close, many of us look forward to the possibilities of 2015—and for the financial market, the New Year may bring many things. With the legislative cycle, market regulators, industry disputes and geographical angst, 2015 will be a busy year. Below are a few topics that are likely to surface: The IRS remains a wild card. Technology fatigue sets in. Generation Y gets serious. Oil slick helps some, hurts others. Data security becomes real. See Scott Martin,...
2014 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary [and Technology]
December 31, 2014
On November 10, 1893, the Washington Post identified an emerging technology that was reshaping American society: Pneumatics! The miracle of compressed air had led to the creation of new contraptions, including pneumatic tube systems that relied on air compressors to transport cylindrical containers hundreds of feet within buildings. Pneumatic tube systems had found favor in banks and department stores, enabling clerks to transmit documents rapidly from one office to another. Noting this and other...
December 31, 2014
On November 10, 1893, the Washington Post identified an emerging technology that was reshaping American society: Pneumatics! The miracle of compressed air had led to the creation of new contraptions, including pneumatic tube systems that relied on air compressors to transport cylindrical containers hundreds of feet within buildings. Pneumatic tube systems had found favor in banks and department stores, enabling clerks to transmit documents rapidly from one office to another. Noting this and other...
The 10 Most Important Legal Technology Developments of 2014
December 31, 2014
Last year, I posted my picks for the 10 most important legal technology developments of 2013. In many ways, this year’s big legal tech stories were continuations of last year’s. Last year, for example, I wrote about the cloud having come into its own, about competence in legal technology becoming a necessity, about mobile becoming the driving force in tech development, about practice management becoming mainstream, and about technology helping to fill the access-to-justice shortfall. All of these...
December 31, 2014
Last year, I posted my picks for the 10 most important legal technology developments of 2013. In many ways, this year’s big legal tech stories were continuations of last year’s. Last year, for example, I wrote about the cloud having come into its own, about competence in legal technology becoming a necessity, about mobile becoming the driving force in tech development, about practice management becoming mainstream, and about technology helping to fill the access-to-justice shortfall. All of these...
For Sony Pictures Execs, The Interview Tested Negotiation Skills
December 31, 2014
Sony’s problems may be traced in part to the importance of culture in negotiation and managerial decision making. Sources told the Times that Sony Pictures executives had decided to green-light Rogen and his co-director Evan Goldberg’s film for fear they would decamp to another studio. The desire to snare a film by hot young directors may have blinded Pascal and other Sony Pictures executives to its potential geopolitical repercussions. In particular, they appeared not to seriously consider...
December 31, 2014
Sony’s problems may be traced in part to the importance of culture in negotiation and managerial decision making. Sources told the Times that Sony Pictures executives had decided to green-light Rogen and his co-director Evan Goldberg’s film for fear they would decamp to another studio. The desire to snare a film by hot young directors may have blinded Pascal and other Sony Pictures executives to its potential geopolitical repercussions. In particular, they appeared not to seriously consider...
Cognitive Biases: The Elephant In The Room
December 31, 2014
No matter how rational and fair lawyers believe they are, like all people they have biases and blind spots that they are unaware...
December 31, 2014
No matter how rational and fair lawyers believe they are, like all people they have biases and blind spots that they are unaware...
News Round-up: Tech Awards
December 30, 2014
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, and attorneys...
December 30, 2014
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, and attorneys...
Lawyer’s Tech Tools Track Litigation, Predict Chances of Success Before Patent Board
December 30, 2014
A patent lawyer frustrated with the ability to track cases related to the suit against his client turned to his previous...
December 30, 2014
A patent lawyer frustrated with the ability to track cases related to the suit against his client turned to his previous...
Does The UK Know Something We Don’t About Alternative Business Structures?
December 30, 2014
For two nations sharing a language and legal history, the contrast in the visions at play in the legal systems of the United States and United Kingdom is more than striking. It’s revolutionary. The debates in the U.S. go on: Should ethics rules blocking nonlawyer ownership of law firms be lifted? Is the current definition of unlicensed law practice harming rather than protecting clients? What about the restrictions on multidisciplinary practices? And those debates are by no means ending:...
December 30, 2014
For two nations sharing a language and legal history, the contrast in the visions at play in the legal systems of the United States and United Kingdom is more than striking. It’s revolutionary. The debates in the U.S. go on: Should ethics rules blocking nonlawyer ownership of law firms be lifted? Is the current definition of unlicensed law practice harming rather than protecting clients? What about the restrictions on multidisciplinary practices? And those debates are by no means ending:...
The Risks of Taking Dealmaking Off the Table
December 29, 2014
On December 7, the news broke that Pierre Korkie, a South African who had been held hostage in Yemen by Al Qaeda, was killed by his guards just hours before his scheduled release due to a botched U.S. attempt to free another hostage. The tragedy suggests the dangers not only of refusing to engage in dealmaking with unsavory potential negotiating partners, but of failing to communicate adequately with those affected by such decisions. Korkie and his wife, Yolande, were seized in May 2013 in Yemen,...
December 29, 2014
On December 7, the news broke that Pierre Korkie, a South African who had been held hostage in Yemen by Al Qaeda, was killed by his guards just hours before his scheduled release due to a botched U.S. attempt to free another hostage. The tragedy suggests the dangers not only of refusing to engage in dealmaking with unsavory potential negotiating partners, but of failing to communicate adequately with those affected by such decisions. Korkie and his wife, Yolande, were seized in May 2013 in Yemen,...
