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Is a bird in the hand worth two in the bush?
May 30, 2019
This consideration of value also has application in a mediation context. While the value of possible outcomes might be expressed in monetary terms for ease of comparison, it may be useful to dig a bit deeper to make sure we really understand what lies behind each party’s valuations to see if the pie to be divided is potentially bigger than it might at first appear. So is a bird in the hand worth more than two in the bush? Maybe, but you really need to know much more about the birds, how and why they...
May 30, 2019
This consideration of value also has application in a mediation context. While the value of possible outcomes might be expressed in monetary terms for ease of comparison, it may be useful to dig a bit deeper to make sure we really understand what lies behind each party’s valuations to see if the pie to be divided is potentially bigger than it might at first appear. So is a bird in the hand worth more than two in the bush? Maybe, but you really need to know much more about the birds, how and why they...
It’s Not Just About the Money and Other Food for Thought for Mediators
May 29, 2019
Get under the surface. In a long-running claim worth many tens of millions, the decision-makers appeared to have reached the end of the road. In an effort to find a way forward, we spent four hours going through my ‘Questions for a Difficult Meeting’ questionnaire. The parties prepared privately first and then, meeting together, they alternated in giving their responses. The nature of the questions is such that they needed to dig deeper to look for answers. This opened up new levels of understanding...
May 29, 2019
Get under the surface. In a long-running claim worth many tens of millions, the decision-makers appeared to have reached the end of the road. In an effort to find a way forward, we spent four hours going through my ‘Questions for a Difficult Meeting’ questionnaire. The parties prepared privately first and then, meeting together, they alternated in giving their responses. The nature of the questions is such that they needed to dig deeper to look for answers. This opened up new levels of understanding...
Towards a Better Understanding of Lawyers’ Judgmental Biases in Client Representation
May 28, 2019
Previous research demonstrates that lawyers and law students are, on average, prone to overconfidence bias and self-serving judgments of fairness when they take on a representative lawyering role. This is the first study to investigate individual differences in susceptibility to these biases. Expanding on two previous experiments (Loewenstein, et al., 1993; Babcock, Loewenstein & Issacharoff, 1998), and utilizing as our sample 468 law students from twelve geographically diverse U.S. law schools,...
May 28, 2019
Previous research demonstrates that lawyers and law students are, on average, prone to overconfidence bias and self-serving judgments of fairness when they take on a representative lawyering role. This is the first study to investigate individual differences in susceptibility to these biases. Expanding on two previous experiments (Loewenstein, et al., 1993; Babcock, Loewenstein & Issacharoff, 1998), and utilizing as our sample 468 law students from twelve geographically diverse U.S. law schools,...
Behavioral Legal Ethics and Negotiation
May 27, 2019
The 2019 Chris Beecroft Jr. Lecture with Russell Korobkin Here is a link to this year's annual Beecroft Lecture at the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution. The speaker was Russell Korobkin, Vice Dean and Richard C. Maxwell Professor of Law @ UCLA. His topic was "Behavioral Legal Ethics and Negotiation." His talk will be the basis for an article in the Nevada Law Journal.
May 27, 2019
The 2019 Chris Beecroft Jr. Lecture with Russell Korobkin Here is a link to this year's annual Beecroft Lecture at the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution. The speaker was Russell Korobkin, Vice Dean and Richard C. Maxwell Professor of Law @ UCLA. His topic was "Behavioral Legal Ethics and Negotiation." His talk will be the basis for an article in the Nevada Law Journal.
Bloomberg Law Says It Has ‘Significantly’ Expanded its Litigation Analytics
May 26, 2019
Bloomberg Law says it has today rolled out a significant expansion of its Litigation Analytics suite, now providing analytics...
May 26, 2019
Bloomberg Law says it has today rolled out a significant expansion of its Litigation Analytics suite, now providing analytics...
Legal Analytics Are The Successful Insurance Litigator’s Secret Weapon
May 25, 2019
Lex Machina's white paper provides valuable insights into legal cases and trends to help provide better legal advice, develop better litigation strategies, and win more cases. Insurance litigators: Whether you represent policyholders or insurers, whether you’re with a Biglaw firm or a solo practitioner, the Lex Machina white paper Legal Analytics — The Secret Weapon of Successful Insurance Litigators is a must-read, data-driven analysis of the practice landscape. By...
May 25, 2019
Lex Machina's white paper provides valuable insights into legal cases and trends to help provide better legal advice, develop better litigation strategies, and win more cases. Insurance litigators: Whether you represent policyholders or insurers, whether you’re with a Biglaw firm or a solo practitioner, the Lex Machina white paper Legal Analytics — The Secret Weapon of Successful Insurance Litigators is a must-read, data-driven analysis of the practice landscape. By...
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Rules, Standards, and Judicial Discretion
May 24, 2019
Artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning in particular, promises lawmakers greater specificity and fewer errors. Algorithmic lawmaking and judging will leverage models built from large stores of data that permit the creation and application of finely tuned rules. AI is therefore regarded as something that will bring about a movement from standards to rules. Drawing on contemporary data science, this Article shows that machine learning is less impressive when the past is unlike the future,...
May 24, 2019
Artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning in particular, promises lawmakers greater specificity and fewer errors. Algorithmic lawmaking and judging will leverage models built from large stores of data that permit the creation and application of finely tuned rules. AI is therefore regarded as something that will bring about a movement from standards to rules. Drawing on contemporary data science, this Article shows that machine learning is less impressive when the past is unlike the future,...
Retaining Jurisdiction Just Got Tougher in California!
May 23, 2019
In Mesa RHF Partners, L.P. v City of Los Angeles, et al, and Hill RHF Housing Partners, L.P. v City of Los Angeles, B288355 (filed 3/29/19), the Second Appellate District Court in California just made it tougher on the parties to have the trial court retain jurisdiction on a motion to enforce the settlement. It ruled that the parties themselves, and not their counsel, must make the request to the court. For counsel to do so, will not be enough. In both matters, the plaintiffs sued...
May 23, 2019
In Mesa RHF Partners, L.P. v City of Los Angeles, et al, and Hill RHF Housing Partners, L.P. v City of Los Angeles, B288355 (filed 3/29/19), the Second Appellate District Court in California just made it tougher on the parties to have the trial court retain jurisdiction on a motion to enforce the settlement. It ruled that the parties themselves, and not their counsel, must make the request to the court. For counsel to do so, will not be enough. In both matters, the plaintiffs sued...
Bexar County District Court Verdict Reports
May 22, 2019
The Bexar County District Courts and Chief Trial Assignments Counsel are reporting recent jury verdicts. The first of these monthly reports can be downloaded from the Chief Assignment Counsel's website: https://www.bexar.org/1813/Chief-Trial-Assignment-Clerk Credit to the Bexar County District Judges, including Judge Karen Pozza, and Chief Trial Assignments Counsel, Ms. Lisa Dossmann, and her colleagues for compiling and reporting this information so others can make data-informed decisions.
May 22, 2019
The Bexar County District Courts and Chief Trial Assignments Counsel are reporting recent jury verdicts. The first of these monthly reports can be downloaded from the Chief Assignment Counsel's website: https://www.bexar.org/1813/Chief-Trial-Assignment-Clerk Credit to the Bexar County District Judges, including Judge Karen Pozza, and Chief Trial Assignments Counsel, Ms. Lisa Dossmann, and her colleagues for compiling and reporting this information so others can make data-informed decisions.
San Antonio COA Holds Arbitrator Must Decide Whether Contract is Void as a Matter of Law
May 21, 2019
Texas’s Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio has reversed a trial court’s order denying a financing company’s motion to compel arbitration. In Spruce Lending, Inc. v. Garcia, No. 04-18-00797-CV (Tex. App – San Antonio, April 3, 2019), a Texas man, Garcia, entered into a financing contract with Spruce Lending in order to have solar panels installed on his home by Rodeo Solar, LLC. The financing contract contained a broad arbitration provision that required...
May 21, 2019
Texas’s Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio has reversed a trial court’s order denying a financing company’s motion to compel arbitration. In Spruce Lending, Inc. v. Garcia, No. 04-18-00797-CV (Tex. App – San Antonio, April 3, 2019), a Texas man, Garcia, entered into a financing contract with Spruce Lending in order to have solar panels installed on his home by Rodeo Solar, LLC. The financing contract contained a broad arbitration provision that required...
