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Study of Chief Legal Officers Finds More Bad News for Law Firms
November 14, 2014
Ever since the Great Recession, law firms have seen both the supply of available legal work and the demand for their services dwindle. According to Altman Weil’s 2014 Chief Legal Officer Survey (PDF), those trends are continuing and show no signs of abatement. The study revealed that in-house legal departments are keeping more legal matters for themselves and are demanding heavy discounts for the work they give to outside counsel. Of the 186 CLO’s to respond to Altman Weil’s survey, 40 percent...
November 14, 2014
Ever since the Great Recession, law firms have seen both the supply of available legal work and the demand for their services dwindle. According to Altman Weil’s 2014 Chief Legal Officer Survey (PDF), those trends are continuing and show no signs of abatement. The study revealed that in-house legal departments are keeping more legal matters for themselves and are demanding heavy discounts for the work they give to outside counsel. Of the 186 CLO’s to respond to Altman Weil’s survey, 40 percent...
Effective Strategies for Mediating Coverage Disputes
November 13, 2014
The mediation of insurance and risk transfer disputes involves interpretation of contracts and insurance policies, challenging legal issues, and the interests of multiple stakeholders. Such mediations are not just a matter of exchanging numbers. For parties, how do you advocate your position while, at the same time, exploring settlement? For a mediator, how do you navigate through such specialized advocacy and find common ground? So, in third-party claims, for example, indemnity agreements are often...
November 13, 2014
The mediation of insurance and risk transfer disputes involves interpretation of contracts and insurance policies, challenging legal issues, and the interests of multiple stakeholders. Such mediations are not just a matter of exchanging numbers. For parties, how do you advocate your position while, at the same time, exploring settlement? For a mediator, how do you navigate through such specialized advocacy and find common ground? So, in third-party claims, for example, indemnity agreements are often...
Eight Tips on How to Impress Your Arbitrator
November 13, 2014
While the most successful way to impress your arbitrator is with the merits of your case, there are smaller, but important, ways to create a favorable impression of yourself and your client’s case. Below is one arbitrator’s guide to creating an arbitral environment favorable to you and your client. These tips are presented with the important caveat that they represent only one person’s list, based on 30 years of judging and arbitration. Do not email your adversary with negative, insulting...
November 13, 2014
While the most successful way to impress your arbitrator is with the merits of your case, there are smaller, but important, ways to create a favorable impression of yourself and your client’s case. Below is one arbitrator’s guide to creating an arbitral environment favorable to you and your client. These tips are presented with the important caveat that they represent only one person’s list, based on 30 years of judging and arbitration. Do not email your adversary with negative, insulting...
Federal Judge Orders Google Wallet Consumer Privacy Dispute to Mediation
November 13, 2014
A federal judge in California has reportedly ordered a consumer privacy dispute that was filed against technology giant Google to mediation. In In re: Google Inc. Privacy Policy Litigation, No. 5:12-CV-01382, a group of Google Wallet users filed a class action lawsuit against the company over changes that were made to its privacy policy in March 2012. According to the consumers, the revised privacy policy allowed Google to aggregate data that was collected about customers through a variety of Google...
November 13, 2014
A federal judge in California has reportedly ordered a consumer privacy dispute that was filed against technology giant Google to mediation. In In re: Google Inc. Privacy Policy Litigation, No. 5:12-CV-01382, a group of Google Wallet users filed a class action lawsuit against the company over changes that were made to its privacy policy in March 2012. According to the consumers, the revised privacy policy allowed Google to aggregate data that was collected about customers through a variety of Google...
Lex Machina to Unveil Custom Insights to Litigation Data
November 13, 2014
Lex Machina, a provider of intellectual property litigation data analytics, introduced two new improvements to its Legal...
November 13, 2014
Lex Machina, a provider of intellectual property litigation data analytics, introduced two new improvements to its Legal...
Moving from Preparation to Negotiation – How to Cause Failure in Mediation – Part 1
November 12, 2014
Much has been written advising of various tips to make mediations work. Let’s address ways folks are making sure their...
November 12, 2014
Much has been written advising of various tips to make mediations work. Let’s address ways folks are making sure their...
Fifth Circuit Holds Court Must Decide Issue of Arbitrability in Labor Contract Dispute
November 12, 2014
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a district court’s order allowing an arbitrator to determine the issue of arbitrability in a labor contract dispute. In Houston Refining, L.P. v. United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Mfg., No. 13-20384 (August 25, 2014), a company, Houston Refining, filed for bankruptcy. Not long after, the company stopped matching its workers’ contributions to their personal 401(k) retirement accounts. Houston Refining then entered into...
November 12, 2014
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a district court’s order allowing an arbitrator to determine the issue of arbitrability in a labor contract dispute. In Houston Refining, L.P. v. United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Mfg., No. 13-20384 (August 25, 2014), a company, Houston Refining, filed for bankruptcy. Not long after, the company stopped matching its workers’ contributions to their personal 401(k) retirement accounts. Houston Refining then entered into...
There’s an App for that! The Use of Technology in Developing Parenting Plans
November 12, 2014
Never one to turn down the opportunity to try out new technological developments, I was interested to come across software designed to assist in formulating parenting plans earlier this year. This may sound rather “out there” to many mediators, so bear with me while I try to set out how it works and how I have used it. The programme I have been using is Custody X Change, written by Ben Coltrin at the ripe old age of 21 in 2003. Over the past 11 years, the software has been refined and updated...
November 12, 2014
Never one to turn down the opportunity to try out new technological developments, I was interested to come across software designed to assist in formulating parenting plans earlier this year. This may sound rather “out there” to many mediators, so bear with me while I try to set out how it works and how I have used it. The programme I have been using is Custody X Change, written by Ben Coltrin at the ripe old age of 21 in 2003. Over the past 11 years, the software has been refined and updated...
Testing Assumptions about Consumer Understanding of Arbitration
November 11, 2014
Arbitration critics often make assertions about the impact of arbitration clauses hidden in the fine print of employment and consumer contracts. In the short film Lost in the Fine Print, for example, Robert Reich bases much of his critique of what the movie calls “forced arbitration” on the lack of meaningful consumer understanding of—and therefore consent to—arbitration. The movie relies on anecdotal evidence of arbitration harms while assuming that arbitration agreements are neither wanted...
November 11, 2014
Arbitration critics often make assertions about the impact of arbitration clauses hidden in the fine print of employment and consumer contracts. In the short film Lost in the Fine Print, for example, Robert Reich bases much of his critique of what the movie calls “forced arbitration” on the lack of meaningful consumer understanding of—and therefore consent to—arbitration. The movie relies on anecdotal evidence of arbitration harms while assuming that arbitration agreements are neither wanted...
Houston COA Overturns Harris County Court Decision Confirming Arbitral Award Without Rendering Final Judgment
November 11, 2014
The Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston has reversed a lower court’s decision confirming an arbitral award...
November 11, 2014
The Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston has reversed a lower court’s decision confirming an arbitral award...
