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When and How to Have a Difficult Conversation
September 26, 2014
Every one of us has to have a difficult conversation with someone at some time. How and when we have that difficult can make the difference between escalating the problem or finding a solution. The first thing to think about is when to have that conversation. Most people want to procrastinate the conversation as long as possible. Maybe someone else will tell the person, maybe if I wait long enough I won’t need to have that conversation. The problem is that the longer that you wait to have...
September 26, 2014
Every one of us has to have a difficult conversation with someone at some time. How and when we have that difficult can make the difference between escalating the problem or finding a solution. The first thing to think about is when to have that conversation. Most people want to procrastinate the conversation as long as possible. Maybe someone else will tell the person, maybe if I wait long enough I won’t need to have that conversation. The problem is that the longer that you wait to have...
Discovery of Social Media Data
September 26, 2014
The digital revolution has caused tremendous growth in the volume of documents stored and collected electronically. It has also...
September 26, 2014
The digital revolution has caused tremendous growth in the volume of documents stored and collected electronically. It has also...
New York Court Rejects Arbitration of Reinsurance Dispute
September 26, 2014
A New York federal district court denied Transatlantic Reinsurance Company’s petition to compel National Indemnity Company (“NICO”) to submit to arbitration. While the court’s order does not provide the basis for its ruling and only refers to the reasons set forth on the record, the issues were extensively analyzed in the parties’ briefing. The core issue was whether NICO, which was not a signatory to the reinsurance agreements between Transatlantic and AIG, should be compelled to arbitrate...
September 26, 2014
A New York federal district court denied Transatlantic Reinsurance Company’s petition to compel National Indemnity Company (“NICO”) to submit to arbitration. While the court’s order does not provide the basis for its ruling and only refers to the reasons set forth on the record, the issues were extensively analyzed in the parties’ briefing. The core issue was whether NICO, which was not a signatory to the reinsurance agreements between Transatlantic and AIG, should be compelled to arbitrate...
New JAMS Arbitration Rules Offer Emergency Relief Procedures
September 25, 2014
Parties choose arbitration because it provides for a controlled process. Within that process, there is one relatively rare situation when a party requires immediate relief to get a certain aspect of the case resolved quickly and cannot wait until an arbitrator is appointed. Included in the updated JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules that JAMS recently announced, are new emergency relief procedures that provide for such situations. Under the new Rule 2(c), a party seeking emergency relief may now apply...
September 25, 2014
Parties choose arbitration because it provides for a controlled process. Within that process, there is one relatively rare situation when a party requires immediate relief to get a certain aspect of the case resolved quickly and cannot wait until an arbitrator is appointed. Included in the updated JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules that JAMS recently announced, are new emergency relief procedures that provide for such situations. Under the new Rule 2(c), a party seeking emergency relief may now apply...
California Court Upholds Delegation Clause in Arbitration Agreement
September 25, 2014
The issue before the California Appellate Court was whether the trial court erred in enforcing a delegation clause in an arbitration agreement governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and granting the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration. Plaintiff/Petitioner brought a wage and hour action against her former employer. The defendant former employer moved to compel arbitration, pursuant to a clause contained in its employee handbook. The delegation clause provided, “The arbitrator...
September 25, 2014
The issue before the California Appellate Court was whether the trial court erred in enforcing a delegation clause in an arbitration agreement governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and granting the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration. Plaintiff/Petitioner brought a wage and hour action against her former employer. The defendant former employer moved to compel arbitration, pursuant to a clause contained in its employee handbook. The delegation clause provided, “The arbitrator...
The Rise and Fall of Humor: Psychological Distance Modulates Humorous Responses to Tragedy
September 25, 2014
Humor is a ubiquitous experience that facilitates coping, social coordination, and well-being. We examine how humorous responses to a tragedy change over time by measuring reactions to jokes about Hurricane Sandy. Inconsistent with the belief that the passage of time monotonically increases humor, but consistent with the benign violation theory of humor, a longitudinal study reveals that humorous responses to Sandy’s destruction rose, peaked, and eventually fell over the course of one hundred days....
September 25, 2014
Humor is a ubiquitous experience that facilitates coping, social coordination, and well-being. We examine how humorous responses to a tragedy change over time by measuring reactions to jokes about Hurricane Sandy. Inconsistent with the belief that the passage of time monotonically increases humor, but consistent with the benign violation theory of humor, a longitudinal study reveals that humorous responses to Sandy’s destruction rose, peaked, and eventually fell over the course of one hundred days....
Pilot Mandatory Mediation Program in New York
September 25, 2014
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. The judiciary in the Big Apple took an important step for promotion of mediation. On July 28, the Commercial Division in New York County Supreme Court introduced a pilot mandatory mediation program. In 1993 New York pioneered in creating a specialized commercial court to handle complex business lawsuits. Commercial Division judges regularly decide cutting-edge legal issues. However, with a mushrooming docket, the Commercial Division has become a victim of its own success....
September 25, 2014
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. The judiciary in the Big Apple took an important step for promotion of mediation. On July 28, the Commercial Division in New York County Supreme Court introduced a pilot mandatory mediation program. In 1993 New York pioneered in creating a specialized commercial court to handle complex business lawsuits. Commercial Division judges regularly decide cutting-edge legal issues. However, with a mushrooming docket, the Commercial Division has become a victim of its own success....
The Mediation Games
September 25, 2014
In hundreds of mediations happening every day throughout the country, people are playing games. As negotiators, it is important to understand that although negotiations can be legal proceedings, some of the strategies and tactics related to those negotiations can be learned through games. There are at least four games which demonstrate the intricate process that occurs during a mediation. Those games are: chess, poker, pingpong and “Deal or No Deal.” Understanding how those games apply to negotiations...
September 25, 2014
In hundreds of mediations happening every day throughout the country, people are playing games. As negotiators, it is important to understand that although negotiations can be legal proceedings, some of the strategies and tactics related to those negotiations can be learned through games. There are at least four games which demonstrate the intricate process that occurs during a mediation. Those games are: chess, poker, pingpong and “Deal or No Deal.” Understanding how those games apply to negotiations...
The Most Litigated Will in History
September 24, 2014
A Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas recently considered a request from the trustees of the Stephen Girard Trust, a charitable...
September 24, 2014
A Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas recently considered a request from the trustees of the Stephen Girard Trust, a charitable...
Effects on Settlement of Post-Grant Patent Review Proceedings
September 24, 2014
The recent America Invents Act both modified and created procedures for challenging patents in proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) after they have been issued, which are called post grant reviews (PGRs). These include inter partes review (IPR) procedures, typically challenging validity based on prior art, and covered business method (CBM) challenges based on assertions that what is claimed is unpatentable subject matter. Very frequently, these proceedings are invoked...
September 24, 2014
The recent America Invents Act both modified and created procedures for challenging patents in proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) after they have been issued, which are called post grant reviews (PGRs). These include inter partes review (IPR) procedures, typically challenging validity based on prior art, and covered business method (CBM) challenges based on assertions that what is claimed is unpatentable subject matter. Very frequently, these proceedings are invoked...
