Blog Archives
Frustrated Court Crafts “New and Simpler Approach to Discovery,” Identifies Search Terms to be Utilized by Plaintiff
December 29, 2014
Armstrong Pump, Inc. v. Hartman, No. 10-CV-446S, 2014 WL 6908867 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 9, 2014) In this breach of contract case, the court granted in part Defendant’s motion to compel and, in light of Plaintiff’s piecemeal production (which the court had earlier cautioned against) and other discovery failures, fashioned a “new and simpler approach” to discovery, including the identification of 13 search terms/phrases to be utilized when searching “ALL [of Plaintiff’s] corporate documents,...
December 29, 2014
Armstrong Pump, Inc. v. Hartman, No. 10-CV-446S, 2014 WL 6908867 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 9, 2014) In this breach of contract case, the court granted in part Defendant’s motion to compel and, in light of Plaintiff’s piecemeal production (which the court had earlier cautioned against) and other discovery failures, fashioned a “new and simpler approach” to discovery, including the identification of 13 search terms/phrases to be utilized when searching “ALL [of Plaintiff’s] corporate documents,...
How Our Brain Determines if the Product is Worth the Price
December 28, 2014
"We were interested in whether considering the price first changed how people thought about the decision process, and whether it changed the way the brain coded the value of a product," says Uma R. Karmarkar, a neuroscientist and assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School, who conducted the research with Baba Shiv, a marketing professor and neuroeconomics expert at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, and Brian Knutson, an associate professor of psychology...
December 28, 2014
"We were interested in whether considering the price first changed how people thought about the decision process, and whether it changed the way the brain coded the value of a product," says Uma R. Karmarkar, a neuroscientist and assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School, who conducted the research with Baba Shiv, a marketing professor and neuroeconomics expert at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, and Brian Knutson, an associate professor of psychology...
TripAdvisor Fined $610,000 for Failing to Prevent Astroturfing
December 28, 2014
Of course not all bad reviews are astroturfing since people can post bad reviews if they do not like a hotel. However to make astroturfing more complicated, now some hotels have started fining people who post bad reviews after their stays. The BBC reported that the UK Broadway Hotel “fined” a couple £100 who described the hotel as a “rotten, stinking hovel” on TripAdvisor after a one night stay, but the hotel later said it “will refund the money.” The UK hotel created the “policy...
December 28, 2014
Of course not all bad reviews are astroturfing since people can post bad reviews if they do not like a hotel. However to make astroturfing more complicated, now some hotels have started fining people who post bad reviews after their stays. The BBC reported that the UK Broadway Hotel “fined” a couple £100 who described the hotel as a “rotten, stinking hovel” on TripAdvisor after a one night stay, but the hotel later said it “will refund the money.” The UK hotel created the “policy...
Billion $ Divorce
December 28, 2014
From Sean Williams (University of Texas), guest blogging for Concurring Opinions: A few weeks ago, an Oklahoma judge was tasked with dividing Harold and Sue Ann Hamm’s $2Billion marital estate. And the judge’s only guidance was to divide it in any way that was, in his mind, “fair,” “just,” and “reasonable.” Billion dollar divorces like this one highlight long-known problems with divorce law. Namely, that courts have wide and almost unreviewable discretion over many aspects of a divorcing...
December 28, 2014
From Sean Williams (University of Texas), guest blogging for Concurring Opinions: A few weeks ago, an Oklahoma judge was tasked with dividing Harold and Sue Ann Hamm’s $2Billion marital estate. And the judge’s only guidance was to divide it in any way that was, in his mind, “fair,” “just,” and “reasonable.” Billion dollar divorces like this one highlight long-known problems with divorce law. Namely, that courts have wide and almost unreviewable discretion over many aspects of a divorcing...
NYT DealBook on Law School Admissions Slide
December 27, 2014
The New York Times DealBook has a post by David Segal on the law school admissions slide reported by the ABA last week pointing out that total 1L enrollment at the 204 ABA "approved" schools for fall 2014, which is stands at 37,942, has not been this low since 1973 when there were 53 less schools. Further, the combined total enrollment at all law schools is presently 119,775, a figure that has not been this low since 1987 when there were 29 fewer law schools than today. Here's an excerpt: A Steep...
December 27, 2014
The New York Times DealBook has a post by David Segal on the law school admissions slide reported by the ABA last week pointing out that total 1L enrollment at the 204 ABA "approved" schools for fall 2014, which is stands at 37,942, has not been this low since 1973 when there were 53 less schools. Further, the combined total enrollment at all law schools is presently 119,775, a figure that has not been this low since 1987 when there were 29 fewer law schools than today. Here's an excerpt: A Steep...
ILTA Survey Reveals Extensive Attorney iPad and iPhone Use
December 27, 2014
iPad Use The survey revealed that 90% of law firms have attorneys using iPads, 44% of law firms have attorneys using an Android tablet, 42% have attorneys using a Microsoft Surface tablet, 17% have attorneys using a Windows tablet (other than Microsoft Surface), 5% have attorneys using a BlackBerry Playbook, and 8% report that none of their attorneys use a tablet. As for the 90% of law firms that report iPad use at their firm, that represents a slight increase; it was 89% in 2013, 88% in 2012,...
December 27, 2014
iPad Use The survey revealed that 90% of law firms have attorneys using iPads, 44% of law firms have attorneys using an Android tablet, 42% have attorneys using a Microsoft Surface tablet, 17% have attorneys using a Windows tablet (other than Microsoft Surface), 5% have attorneys using a BlackBerry Playbook, and 8% report that none of their attorneys use a tablet. As for the 90% of law firms that report iPad use at their firm, that represents a slight increase; it was 89% in 2013, 88% in 2012,...
World’s Fastest Internet Comes To… Minneapolis
December 26, 2014
Minneapolis is to get what’s being billed as the world’s fastest broadband connection, a whopping 10 gigabits per second. The service is available to around 30,000 homes and businesses in the city and is provided by US Internet. It already provides a gigabit service but has now flipped the switch to increase that ten-fold. Although available to consumers, it’s probably mainly going to be taken up by businesses as it costs $399 a month. That’s great value on a per-megabit basis (the...
December 26, 2014
Minneapolis is to get what’s being billed as the world’s fastest broadband connection, a whopping 10 gigabits per second. The service is available to around 30,000 homes and businesses in the city and is provided by US Internet. It already provides a gigabit service but has now flipped the switch to increase that ten-fold. Although available to consumers, it’s probably mainly going to be taken up by businesses as it costs $399 a month. That’s great value on a per-megabit basis (the...
Beyond “Getting to Yes:” Building Mediation Skills and Insights into Relationships
December 26, 2014
A quarter century ago many believed we were experiencing a revolution in the way conflict was managed. Nowhere was this more noticeable than in the construction sector, the primary focus of my practice as an advocate and dispute resolution professional. There, frustration with the costs, delays, risks, and limitations of lawyer-driven adjudication prompted growing attention to informal methods aimed at early resolution of disputes, putting those who “owned” the dispute back in the driver’s...
December 26, 2014
A quarter century ago many believed we were experiencing a revolution in the way conflict was managed. Nowhere was this more noticeable than in the construction sector, the primary focus of my practice as an advocate and dispute resolution professional. There, frustration with the costs, delays, risks, and limitations of lawyer-driven adjudication prompted growing attention to informal methods aimed at early resolution of disputes, putting those who “owned” the dispute back in the driver’s...
2015 Could Be the Year of the Hospital Hack
December 26, 2014
Carl Leonard, principal security analyst for Websense, says hackers are breaking into the computer networks of health-care facilities with increasing frequency and taking valuable personal information that is often secured improperly. In August, Websense researchers reported that over the previous 10 months they had observed a 600 percent increase in attacks on hospitals (See “Hackers Are Homing In on Hospitals”). Leonard’s group now predicts that in 2015 the health-care industry will see a “substantial...
December 26, 2014
Carl Leonard, principal security analyst for Websense, says hackers are breaking into the computer networks of health-care facilities with increasing frequency and taking valuable personal information that is often secured improperly. In August, Websense researchers reported that over the previous 10 months they had observed a 600 percent increase in attacks on hospitals (See “Hackers Are Homing In on Hospitals”). Leonard’s group now predicts that in 2015 the health-care industry will see a “substantial...
The Google Way of Attacking Problems
December 24, 2014
One Friday afternoon in 2002, long before his company became a household verb, Larry Page walked into the office kitchen and posted some printouts of results from Google’s AdWords engine. On top, in big bold letters, he wrote, “THESE ADS SUCK.” In most companies, this would be seen as cruel — an arrogant executive publicly humiliating his hapless employees for shoddy work — but not at Google. In fact, his unusual act was a show of confidence, defining a tough problem that he knew his talented...
December 24, 2014
One Friday afternoon in 2002, long before his company became a household verb, Larry Page walked into the office kitchen and posted some printouts of results from Google’s AdWords engine. On top, in big bold letters, he wrote, “THESE ADS SUCK.” In most companies, this would be seen as cruel — an arrogant executive publicly humiliating his hapless employees for shoddy work — but not at Google. In fact, his unusual act was a show of confidence, defining a tough problem that he knew his talented...
