Blog Archives
Using Artificial Intelligence to provide Intelligent Dispute Resolution Support
April 22, 2021
In this article, we review the use of Artificial Intelligence to provide intelligent dispute resolution support. In the early years there was little systematic development of such systems. Rather a number of ad hoc systems were developed. The focus of these systems was upon the technology being utilised, rather than user needs. Following a review of historic systems, we focus upon what are the important components of intelligent Online Dispute Resolution systems. Arising from this review, we develop...
April 22, 2021
In this article, we review the use of Artificial Intelligence to provide intelligent dispute resolution support. In the early years there was little systematic development of such systems. Rather a number of ad hoc systems were developed. The focus of these systems was upon the technology being utilised, rather than user needs. Following a review of historic systems, we focus upon what are the important components of intelligent Online Dispute Resolution systems. Arising from this review, we develop...
‘Think Again’ Review: Moderately Confident
April 21, 2021
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School with a talent for delivering comfortable truths. He has a knack for turning the base metal of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science into life-affirming Oprah gold, and in his latest book, “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know,” he’s in vintage form. His aim is to “explore how rethinking happens,” how we change our minds, how we persuade others, and how we build cultures of lifelong learning. “Think...
April 21, 2021
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School with a talent for delivering comfortable truths. He has a knack for turning the base metal of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science into life-affirming Oprah gold, and in his latest book, “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know,” he’s in vintage form. His aim is to “explore how rethinking happens,” how we change our minds, how we persuade others, and how we build cultures of lifelong learning. “Think...
How to Resolve a Conflict When You Hate Your Opponent’s Guts
April 20, 2021
In the late 1970s, Jay and Lorna walked into the legal offices of Gary Friedman. After years of marriage, they had decided to call it quits. But instead of going through an adversarial process, they wanted somebody to help them disentangle their lives with as little belligerence as possible. That someone, they hoped, would be Friedman. Friedman declined. It seemed improper for one lawyer to represent two parties to the same conflict. He had never heard of such a thing. Apologetically, he told...
April 20, 2021
In the late 1970s, Jay and Lorna walked into the legal offices of Gary Friedman. After years of marriage, they had decided to call it quits. But instead of going through an adversarial process, they wanted somebody to help them disentangle their lives with as little belligerence as possible. That someone, they hoped, would be Friedman. Friedman declined. It seemed improper for one lawyer to represent two parties to the same conflict. He had never heard of such a thing. Apologetically, he told...
Measuring Lawyer Well‐Being Systematically: Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey
April 19, 2021
Conventional wisdom says that lawyers are uniquely unhappy. Unfortunately, this conventional wisdom rests on a weak empirical foundation. The “unhappy lawyers” narrative relies on nonrandom survey data collected from volunteer respondents. Instead of depending on such data, researchers should study lawyer mental health by relying on large microdatasets of public health data, such as the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) administered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The NHIS includes...
April 19, 2021
Conventional wisdom says that lawyers are uniquely unhappy. Unfortunately, this conventional wisdom rests on a weak empirical foundation. The “unhappy lawyers” narrative relies on nonrandom survey data collected from volunteer respondents. Instead of depending on such data, researchers should study lawyer mental health by relying on large microdatasets of public health data, such as the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) administered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The NHIS includes...
Judging Autonomous Vehicles
April 16, 2021
The introduction of any new technologies challenges judges to determine how it into existing liability schemes. If judges choose poorly, they can unleash novel injuries on society without redress or stifle progress by overburdening a technological breakthrough. The emergence of self-driving, or autonomous, vehicles will present an enormous challenge of this sort to judges, as this technology will alter the foundation of the largest source of civil liability in the United States. Although regulatory...
April 16, 2021
The introduction of any new technologies challenges judges to determine how it into existing liability schemes. If judges choose poorly, they can unleash novel injuries on society without redress or stifle progress by overburdening a technological breakthrough. The emergence of self-driving, or autonomous, vehicles will present an enormous challenge of this sort to judges, as this technology will alter the foundation of the largest source of civil liability in the United States. Although regulatory...
Texas’ Distanced Juries Hit Big Tech With $3.7 Billion of Awards
April 15, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic halted most jury trials of patent disputes as courts closed across the country -- except in Texas, where socially distanced juries have churned out a series of multimillion-dollar verdicts over the past year. “Jurors don’t have a lot of tolerance for nonsense now, because they’re literally putting their lives on the line to do their civic duty,” Robert Hirschhorn, a veteran Texas jury consultant, said in an interview. “They also have all this pent-up frustration...
April 15, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic halted most jury trials of patent disputes as courts closed across the country -- except in Texas, where socially distanced juries have churned out a series of multimillion-dollar verdicts over the past year. “Jurors don’t have a lot of tolerance for nonsense now, because they’re literally putting their lives on the line to do their civic duty,” Robert Hirschhorn, a veteran Texas jury consultant, said in an interview. “They also have all this pent-up frustration...
Use of Reptile Theory During Jury Trials
April 14, 2021
Reptile theory was first articulated by David Ball and Don C. Keenan in Reptile: The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff’s Revolution. It posits that humans have a primitive portion of the brain, similar to reptiles, that is conditioned to pursue safety and survival. On this basis, plaintiffs’ counsel often use reptile theory when presenting personal injury and product liability claims to a jury. They attempt to influence the jury’s decisions by speaking to that “reptilian” portion of the jurors’...
April 14, 2021
Reptile theory was first articulated by David Ball and Don C. Keenan in Reptile: The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff’s Revolution. It posits that humans have a primitive portion of the brain, similar to reptiles, that is conditioned to pursue safety and survival. On this basis, plaintiffs’ counsel often use reptile theory when presenting personal injury and product liability claims to a jury. They attempt to influence the jury’s decisions by speaking to that “reptilian” portion of the jurors’...
Warmth and Competence
April 13, 2021
I am not really one for elevator pitches. But I did hear one the other day about creating impact in a very short space of time, and I was struck by its relevance to mediation. Essentially, the message was that the people we meet make up their minds about us based on two key criteria, and they do so in an impossibly short time. Those two criteria are Warmth and Competence. I will leave the psychologists and anthropologists to argue about whether those judgment calls are made...
April 13, 2021
I am not really one for elevator pitches. But I did hear one the other day about creating impact in a very short space of time, and I was struck by its relevance to mediation. Essentially, the message was that the people we meet make up their minds about us based on two key criteria, and they do so in an impossibly short time. Those two criteria are Warmth and Competence. I will leave the psychologists and anthropologists to argue about whether those judgment calls are made...
How Will Lawyering and Mediation Practices Transform Each Other?
April 10, 2021
The use of mediation in legal disputes has increased dramatically in recent decades. This article describes this new dispute resolution environment as a "liti-mediation" culture, where it becomes taken for granted that mediation is the normal way to end litigation. In this environment, both lawyers’ and mediators’ approaches in mediation are likely to co-evolve. The article examines the growth of the private market for mediation and an accompanying specialization of mediation practice. These...
April 10, 2021
The use of mediation in legal disputes has increased dramatically in recent decades. This article describes this new dispute resolution environment as a "liti-mediation" culture, where it becomes taken for granted that mediation is the normal way to end litigation. In this environment, both lawyers’ and mediators’ approaches in mediation are likely to co-evolve. The article examines the growth of the private market for mediation and an accompanying specialization of mediation practice. These...
Chancellor of the High Court sets out direction of travel for remote hearings
April 9, 2021
Newly-appointed Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales, Sir Julian Flaux, has given his preliminary thoughts on the road ahead in terms of remote hearings, including the types of hearings that are likely to suit a remote hearing and those that will not. He also flags the need to guard against ‘the unintended consequences of informality’ as the court starts to think about the long-term use of remote hearings. As we approach calmer waters, Sir Julian said that the time has come to take...
April 9, 2021
Newly-appointed Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales, Sir Julian Flaux, has given his preliminary thoughts on the road ahead in terms of remote hearings, including the types of hearings that are likely to suit a remote hearing and those that will not. He also flags the need to guard against ‘the unintended consequences of informality’ as the court starts to think about the long-term use of remote hearings. As we approach calmer waters, Sir Julian said that the time has come to take...
