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Identifying the Biases Behind Your Bad Decisions
November 11, 2014
By now the message from decades of decision-making research and recent popular books such as Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking,...
November 11, 2014
By now the message from decades of decision-making research and recent popular books such as Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking,...
Don’t Sign Your Spouse’s Arbitration Agreement, And Other Lessons From Non-Signatories
November 11, 2014
In three cases in recent months, courts have found that plaintiffs who did not sign an arbitration agreement (non-signatories)...
November 11, 2014
In three cases in recent months, courts have found that plaintiffs who did not sign an arbitration agreement (non-signatories)...
Stop Being So Positive
November 10, 2014
We’ve all heard a great deal about the power of positive thinking. Organizations encourage it among their employees in an effort to boost performance and engagement, and it’s a key tenet of “managing yourself” well; affirmative messages about perseverance, resilience, and vision adorn many an office wall. In the wake of the Great Recession, some businesses even hired happiness coaches to get their workers looking on the bright side. And an optimistic attitude is expected of leaders; politicians...
November 10, 2014
We’ve all heard a great deal about the power of positive thinking. Organizations encourage it among their employees in an effort to boost performance and engagement, and it’s a key tenet of “managing yourself” well; affirmative messages about perseverance, resilience, and vision adorn many an office wall. In the wake of the Great Recession, some businesses even hired happiness coaches to get their workers looking on the bright side. And an optimistic attitude is expected of leaders; politicians...
Inferences from Litigated Cases
November 10, 2014
Priest and Klein argued in 1984 that, because of selection effects, the percentage of litigated cases won by plaintiffs will...
November 10, 2014
Priest and Klein argued in 1984 that, because of selection effects, the percentage of litigated cases won by plaintiffs will...
Should Litigation Finance Companies be Party to Mediations?
November 10, 2014
Litigation isn't cheap but payoffs can be massive. Smelling a business opportunity, investors in recent years have bought stakes in lawsuits helping to shoulder expenses in exchange for a cut of potential winnings. The field, known as litigation finance, is still relatively obscure in the U.S. - but it's growing. Banks with litigation finance arms in Europe and Australia have expanded into American markets and bankrolled a broad range of individual-plaintiff and commercial disputes. The practice...
November 10, 2014
Litigation isn't cheap but payoffs can be massive. Smelling a business opportunity, investors in recent years have bought stakes in lawsuits helping to shoulder expenses in exchange for a cut of potential winnings. The field, known as litigation finance, is still relatively obscure in the U.S. - but it's growing. Banks with litigation finance arms in Europe and Australia have expanded into American markets and bankrolled a broad range of individual-plaintiff and commercial disputes. The practice...
The Evolution of International Commercial Dispute Resolution: From One Size Fits All to Bespoke Suit
November 10, 2014
Several years ago, I was giving a talk in Parma, Italy, on international commercial dispute resolution and the dramatic changes the field had undergone in the past century. Looking around the room, I noticed that everyone was exhibiting la bella figura (this was Italy, after all); thus, I decided to use a clothing metaphor for my musings. The “One Size Fits All” Era The first phase of the evolution I referred to as the “One Size Fits All” period. Following the end of the Great War,...
November 10, 2014
Several years ago, I was giving a talk in Parma, Italy, on international commercial dispute resolution and the dramatic changes the field had undergone in the past century. Looking around the room, I noticed that everyone was exhibiting la bella figura (this was Italy, after all); thus, I decided to use a clothing metaphor for my musings. The “One Size Fits All” Era The first phase of the evolution I referred to as the “One Size Fits All” period. Following the end of the Great War,...
Houston COA Orders Arbitration After Man Ratifies Procedurally Unconscionable Agreement
November 10, 2014
Texas’ Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston has overturned a trial court’s order denying a party’s motion...
November 10, 2014
Texas’ Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston has overturned a trial court’s order denying a party’s motion...
Legal Technology Panels Accepted for SXSW 2015 Interactive
November 9, 2014
At least four legal technology panels appear to have been accepted for SXSW 2015 Interactive, scheduled to be held 13-17 March 2015 in Austin, Texas, USA: Nicole Bradick and Noah Waisberg: Will Your Next Lawyer Be a Machine? Jameson Dempsey, Amy Wan, Phil Weiss, and Dan Lear: Legal Hackers: A global movement to reform the law Basha Rubin and Nabiha Syed: Rock, Meet Hard Place: Does Law Stifle Innovation? Molly Schwartz, Rebecca Williams, Molly Bohmer, Daniel Schuman: Your Laws, Your Data:...
November 9, 2014
At least four legal technology panels appear to have been accepted for SXSW 2015 Interactive, scheduled to be held 13-17 March 2015 in Austin, Texas, USA: Nicole Bradick and Noah Waisberg: Will Your Next Lawyer Be a Machine? Jameson Dempsey, Amy Wan, Phil Weiss, and Dan Lear: Legal Hackers: A global movement to reform the law Basha Rubin and Nabiha Syed: Rock, Meet Hard Place: Does Law Stifle Innovation? Molly Schwartz, Rebecca Williams, Molly Bohmer, Daniel Schuman: Your Laws, Your Data:...
The Economic Value of a Law Degree
November 9, 2014
We investigate the economic value of a law degree and find that for most law school graduates, the present value of a law degree typically exceeds its cost by hundreds of thousands of dollars. The median and 25th-percentile earnings premiums justify enrollment. We track lifetime earnings of a large sample of law degree holders. Previous studies focused on starting salaries, generic professional degree holders, or the subset of law degree holders who practice law. We incorporate unemployment and disability...
November 9, 2014
We investigate the economic value of a law degree and find that for most law school graduates, the present value of a law degree typically exceeds its cost by hundreds of thousands of dollars. The median and 25th-percentile earnings premiums justify enrollment. We track lifetime earnings of a large sample of law degree holders. Previous studies focused on starting salaries, generic professional degree holders, or the subset of law degree holders who practice law. We incorporate unemployment and disability...
Can Neuroscience Debunk Free Will?
November 9, 2014
Some research shows that brain activity behind a decision occurs before a person consciously apprehends the decision One of the lively debates spawned from the neuroscience revolution has to do with whether humans possess free will, or merely feel as if we do. If we truly possess free will, then we each consciously control our decisions and actions. If we feel as if we possess free will, then our sense of control is a useful illusion—one that neuroscience will increasingly dispel as it gets...
November 9, 2014
Some research shows that brain activity behind a decision occurs before a person consciously apprehends the decision One of the lively debates spawned from the neuroscience revolution has to do with whether humans possess free will, or merely feel as if we do. If we truly possess free will, then we each consciously control our decisions and actions. If we feel as if we possess free will, then our sense of control is a useful illusion—one that neuroscience will increasingly dispel as it gets...
