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The Repeat Player, Arbitration Providers, Evident Partiality, and the Ninth Circuit
November 21, 2019
Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) Section 10 permits Courts to vacate awards “where there was evident partiality. . . in the arbitrators. . . .” 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(2). If an arbitrator fails to disclose an ownership interest in an arbitration provider, which has a nontrivial, repeat player relationship with a party, should the award be vacated for evident partiality? What constitutes evident partiality and under what circumstances is a controversial and sometimes elusive topic. We’ve written...
November 21, 2019
Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) Section 10 permits Courts to vacate awards “where there was evident partiality. . . in the arbitrators. . . .” 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(2). If an arbitrator fails to disclose an ownership interest in an arbitration provider, which has a nontrivial, repeat player relationship with a party, should the award be vacated for evident partiality? What constitutes evident partiality and under what circumstances is a controversial and sometimes elusive topic. We’ve written...
California Bans Mandatory Arbitration Agreements as a Condition of Employment
November 19, 2019
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law that prohibits employers in the state from requiring workers to sign a mandatory arbitration provision as a condition of employment. AB 51 mandates that an “employer shall not threaten, retaliate or discriminate against, or terminate any applicant for employment or any employee because of the refusal to consent to the waiver of any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act or this...
November 19, 2019
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law that prohibits employers in the state from requiring workers to sign a mandatory arbitration provision as a condition of employment. AB 51 mandates that an “employer shall not threaten, retaliate or discriminate against, or terminate any applicant for employment or any employee because of the refusal to consent to the waiver of any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act or this...
How AI Enables Stronger Litigation
November 18, 2019
Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in the e-discovery space for more than a decade, the technology is now capable of more complex litigation tasks such as legal research, drafting pleadings, and predicting judicial decisions. These tasks can be completed in a fraction of the time it would take a human to do them. If AI can help lawyers and law firms more quickly process and analyze large amounts of data, and in turn, make the litigation process less expensive,...
November 18, 2019
Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in the e-discovery space for more than a decade, the technology is now capable of more complex litigation tasks such as legal research, drafting pleadings, and predicting judicial decisions. These tasks can be completed in a fraction of the time it would take a human to do them. If AI can help lawyers and law firms more quickly process and analyze large amounts of data, and in turn, make the litigation process less expensive,...
Fragile Self-Esteem
November 16, 2019
We develop a model of fragile self-esteem — self-esteem that is vulnerable to objectively unjustified swings — and study its implications for choices that depend on, or are aimed to protect, one's self-view. We assume that a person's self-esteem is determined by sampling from his store of ego-relevant memories in a fashion that in turn depends on his self-esteem. This feedback mechanism can create multiple "self-esteem personal equilibria,'' making self-esteem fragile. Self-esteem is especially...
November 16, 2019
We develop a model of fragile self-esteem — self-esteem that is vulnerable to objectively unjustified swings — and study its implications for choices that depend on, or are aimed to protect, one's self-view. We assume that a person's self-esteem is determined by sampling from his store of ego-relevant memories in a fashion that in turn depends on his self-esteem. This feedback mechanism can create multiple "self-esteem personal equilibria,'' making self-esteem fragile. Self-esteem is especially...
Prospect Theory and Stock Market Anomalies
November 15, 2019
We present a new model of asset prices in which investors evaluate risk according to prospect theory and examine its ability...
November 15, 2019
We present a new model of asset prices in which investors evaluate risk according to prospect theory and examine its ability...
Leslie on Conspiracies to Arbitrate
November 14, 2019
Christopher R. Leslie (University of California, Irvine School of Law) has posted Conspiracy to Arbitrate (North Carolina Law Review, Vol. 96, No. 2, 2017) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Beginning in the 1980s, the Supreme Court has ushered in a new Age of Arbitration in which firms can use arbitration clauses to include otherwise unenforceable terms in their contracts, which may allow defendants to shorten statutes of limitations, to limit damages, and to prevent injunctive remedies...
November 14, 2019
Christopher R. Leslie (University of California, Irvine School of Law) has posted Conspiracy to Arbitrate (North Carolina Law Review, Vol. 96, No. 2, 2017) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Beginning in the 1980s, the Supreme Court has ushered in a new Age of Arbitration in which firms can use arbitration clauses to include otherwise unenforceable terms in their contracts, which may allow defendants to shorten statutes of limitations, to limit damages, and to prevent injunctive remedies...
SCOTX Refuses to Weigh in on Oil & Gas Arbitration Dispute
November 13, 2019
The Supreme Court of Texas will not consider whether non-signatory assignees may be compelled to arbitrate their claims following an indemnity dispute. According to another Disputing blog post: In Wagner Oil Co. v. Apache Corp., No. 19-0243, Texas-based Wagner Oil Company (“WOC”) purchased certain Louisiana oil and gas assets from Apache Corporation by executing a purchase and sale agreement (“PSA”). The PSA was signed by Bryan...
November 13, 2019
The Supreme Court of Texas will not consider whether non-signatory assignees may be compelled to arbitrate their claims following an indemnity dispute. According to another Disputing blog post: In Wagner Oil Co. v. Apache Corp., No. 19-0243, Texas-based Wagner Oil Company (“WOC”) purchased certain Louisiana oil and gas assets from Apache Corporation by executing a purchase and sale agreement (“PSA”). The PSA was signed by Bryan...
Overcoming Impasse in Mediation
November 12, 2019
Why are we at Impasse? First, mediators must appreciate why lawyers and their clients are struggling with these...
November 12, 2019
Why are we at Impasse? First, mediators must appreciate why lawyers and their clients are struggling with these...
Negotiating the American Constitution (1787-1789) Coalitions, Process Rules, and Compromises
November 11, 2019
This essay describes the multi-party, multi-issue negotiations of the American Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia...
November 11, 2019
This essay describes the multi-party, multi-issue negotiations of the American Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia...
Re-engineering justice? Robot judges, computerised courts and (semi) automated legal decision-making
November 10, 2019
This paper takes a sceptical look at the possibility of advanced computer technology replacing judges. Looking first at the example of alternative dispute resolution, where considerable progress has been made in developing tools to assist parties to come to agreement, attention then shifts to evaluating a number of other algorithmic instruments in a criminal justice context. The possibility of human judges being fully replaced within the courtroom strictu sensu is examined, and the various elements...
November 10, 2019
This paper takes a sceptical look at the possibility of advanced computer technology replacing judges. Looking first at the example of alternative dispute resolution, where considerable progress has been made in developing tools to assist parties to come to agreement, attention then shifts to evaluating a number of other algorithmic instruments in a criminal justice context. The possibility of human judges being fully replaced within the courtroom strictu sensu is examined, and the various elements...
