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Law Firm’s Advance Conflict Waiver Upheld
July 26, 2013
A corporate client who signs a law firm’s open-ended advance conflicts of interest waiver gives “informed consent” for the firm’s future representation of adverse clients if the waiver adequately informs the client of material risks and reasonable alternatives and if the client is sophisticated enough to understand the waiver, according to a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Factors for determining sophistication include the client’s size,...
July 26, 2013
A corporate client who signs a law firm’s open-ended advance conflicts of interest waiver gives “informed consent” for the firm’s future representation of adverse clients if the waiver adequately informs the client of material risks and reasonable alternatives and if the client is sophisticated enough to understand the waiver, according to a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Factors for determining sophistication include the client’s size,...
Texas Supreme Court Issues Emergency Stay to Consider Arbitration
July 26, 2013
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay in an interlocutory appeal regarding whether an ongoing natural gas dispute...
July 26, 2013
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay in an interlocutory appeal regarding whether an ongoing natural gas dispute...
How Lawyers’ Intuitions Prolong Litigation
July 26, 2013
Most lawsuits settle, but some settle later than they should. Too many compromises occur only after protracted discovery and expensive motion practice. Sometimes the delay precludes settlement altogether. Why does this happen? Several possibilities--such as the alleged greed of lawyers paid on an hourly basis--have been suggested, but they are insufficient to explain why so many cases do not settle until the eve of trial. We offer a novel account of the phenomenon of settling on the courthouse...
July 26, 2013
Most lawsuits settle, but some settle later than they should. Too many compromises occur only after protracted discovery and expensive motion practice. Sometimes the delay precludes settlement altogether. Why does this happen? Several possibilities--such as the alleged greed of lawyers paid on an hourly basis--have been suggested, but they are insufficient to explain why so many cases do not settle until the eve of trial. We offer a novel account of the phenomenon of settling on the courthouse...
Da Silva Moore: Plaintiffs Petition for Writ of Certiorari on Question of Recusal
July 25, 2013
It was reported this week that the Plaintiffs in this case have filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court seeking an answer to the question: “Should a court of appeals review a judge’s denial of a motion to recuse de novo or for an abuse of discretion?” For those who don’t recall, the plaintiffs in this case sought Magistrate Judge Peck’s recusal following his approval of Defendant’s predictive coding protocol. That motion was denied, and the denial...
July 25, 2013
It was reported this week that the Plaintiffs in this case have filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court seeking an answer to the question: “Should a court of appeals review a judge’s denial of a motion to recuse de novo or for an abuse of discretion?” For those who don’t recall, the plaintiffs in this case sought Magistrate Judge Peck’s recusal following his approval of Defendant’s predictive coding protocol. That motion was denied, and the denial...
Terms of Service & Privacy Policies Create Virtual Law
July 25, 2013
In the wake of revelations that no one has any privacy on the Internet a new documentary was released called “Terms And Conditions May Apply,” which should be a wakeup call for folks to start reading Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policies. Time reported that the documentary was released on July 12, 2013 and the: …film that takes a look at just what we’re agreeing to when we click through without reading the small print. Even though few people bother read them, ToS and Privacy...
July 25, 2013
In the wake of revelations that no one has any privacy on the Internet a new documentary was released called “Terms And Conditions May Apply,” which should be a wakeup call for folks to start reading Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policies. Time reported that the documentary was released on July 12, 2013 and the: …film that takes a look at just what we’re agreeing to when we click through without reading the small print. Even though few people bother read them, ToS and Privacy...
Is Wrongful Death Lawsuit Subject to Arbitration?
July 25, 2013
Over at health law prof blog, Katharine Van Tassel reports about a cert petition filed at the Supreme Court. I hope the Court takes the case! See http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/healthlawprof_blog/ (July 7th post) “In early 2013, a nursing home operator filed a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether state courts can refuse to enforce an arbitration agreement signed by the now deceased resident in a wrongful death action brought by the resident’s survivors under...
July 25, 2013
Over at health law prof blog, Katharine Van Tassel reports about a cert petition filed at the Supreme Court. I hope the Court takes the case! See http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/healthlawprof_blog/ (July 7th post) “In early 2013, a nursing home operator filed a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether state courts can refuse to enforce an arbitration agreement signed by the now deceased resident in a wrongful death action brought by the resident’s survivors under...
DEMO: Picture It Settled® with Don Philbin (ADRtoolbox): “Scarily Accurate!”
July 25, 2013
In this 44th episode of the Conflict Specialists Show, Dave Hilton gets a live demo of the Picture It Settled® software...
July 25, 2013
In this 44th episode of the Conflict Specialists Show, Dave Hilton gets a live demo of the Picture It Settled® software...
Class Certification Denied in Data Breach Case
July 25, 2013
The long-running data breach case, In re Hannaford Bros. Co. [PDF], is setting precedent yet again, this time on the issue of class certification. Having already established widely cited jurisprudence on addressing motions to dismiss data breach actions, the case recently moved on to the next stage of litigation when the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine denied certification to the proposed plaintiff class. In doing so, however, the district court left guideposts for future data breach...
July 25, 2013
The long-running data breach case, In re Hannaford Bros. Co. [PDF], is setting precedent yet again, this time on the issue of class certification. Having already established widely cited jurisprudence on addressing motions to dismiss data breach actions, the case recently moved on to the next stage of litigation when the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine denied certification to the proposed plaintiff class. In doing so, however, the district court left guideposts for future data breach...
12 Ways to Achieve Efficiency and Speed in Arbitration
July 25, 2013
Disputing would like to bring to your attention a useful article written by Houston-based International Arbitrator and Distinguished Neutral Gary McGowan entitled, 12 Ways to Achieve Efficiency and Speed in Arbitration, Corporate Counsel (April 12, 2013). In the article, Gary addresses the increasing concern that arbitration has become too lengthy and costly by offering 12 valuable suggestions for corporate counsel to utilize in order to rein in the process. Those suggestions include engaging...
July 25, 2013
Disputing would like to bring to your attention a useful article written by Houston-based International Arbitrator and Distinguished Neutral Gary McGowan entitled, 12 Ways to Achieve Efficiency and Speed in Arbitration, Corporate Counsel (April 12, 2013). In the article, Gary addresses the increasing concern that arbitration has become too lengthy and costly by offering 12 valuable suggestions for corporate counsel to utilize in order to rein in the process. Those suggestions include engaging...
Procedural Justice in Judicial Settlement Conferences
July 24, 2013
ADR law prof favorites Nancy Welsh (Penn State), Donna Stienstra (Federal Judicial Center), and Bobbi McAdoo (Hamline) have recently put a most interesting book chapter, The Application of Procedural Justice Research to Judicial Actions and Techniques in Settlement Sessions, up on SSRN (availablehere). The piece is a chapter in the recently released book The Multi-Tasking Judge: Comparative Judicial Dispute Resolution (Sourdin & Zariski eds., 2013) (availble here). The abstract...
July 24, 2013
ADR law prof favorites Nancy Welsh (Penn State), Donna Stienstra (Federal Judicial Center), and Bobbi McAdoo (Hamline) have recently put a most interesting book chapter, The Application of Procedural Justice Research to Judicial Actions and Techniques in Settlement Sessions, up on SSRN (availablehere). The piece is a chapter in the recently released book The Multi-Tasking Judge: Comparative Judicial Dispute Resolution (Sourdin & Zariski eds., 2013) (availble here). The abstract...
