News
Fastcase & William S. Hein Publishing – Like a Reese’s Cup
July 20, 2013
Just caught the news over a Slaw that my favorite cheap reasonably priced web-based legal research resource Fastcase has partnered with William S. Hein Publishing to offer inline hyperlinks to Hein subscribers that link to Fastcase federal and state case law, while offering Fastcase users access to Hein’s historical state statutory data and law review collection in search results. Nice to see these well-respected resources partnering to offer more to subscribers. This is a benefit to those...
July 20, 2013
Just caught the news over a Slaw that my favorite cheap reasonably priced web-based legal research resource Fastcase has partnered with William S. Hein Publishing to offer inline hyperlinks to Hein subscribers that link to Fastcase federal and state case law, while offering Fastcase users access to Hein’s historical state statutory data and law review collection in search results. Nice to see these well-respected resources partnering to offer more to subscribers. This is a benefit to those...
Lawyer Who Urged Client to Clean Up Facebook Page Paid $544K Legal Bill; Now Faces Ethics Case
July 20, 2013
A Virginia lawyer who ran afoul of discovery requirements in a major wrongful-death trial by allegedly encouraging a client to clean up his Facebook account has paid his $544,000 share of a $722,000 legal fee award to opposing counsel and seen an $8.5 million award to his client and other plaintiffs in the case upheld by the state supreme court. Matthew B. Murray also resigned from the law firm for which he worked and is now facing a legal ethics case over his conduct in the Charlottesville Circuit...
July 20, 2013
A Virginia lawyer who ran afoul of discovery requirements in a major wrongful-death trial by allegedly encouraging a client to clean up his Facebook account has paid his $544,000 share of a $722,000 legal fee award to opposing counsel and seen an $8.5 million award to his client and other plaintiffs in the case upheld by the state supreme court. Matthew B. Murray also resigned from the law firm for which he worked and is now facing a legal ethics case over his conduct in the Charlottesville Circuit...
The Library of Congress is Archiving Legal Blogs
July 20, 2013
On the Internet there is no rule against perpetuities. To the contrary our perpetuation seems assured. Latest case in point: the new Legal Blawgs Web Archive from the Library of Congress. Yes, just as the LOC is archiving all of our tweets, turns out it is also archiving a selection of legal blog posts, and has been doing so since March 1, 2007. Thanks to our tax dollars, future generations of Americans will be assured the opportunity to revisit posts from blogs such as The Volokh Conspiracy, Overlawyered, Slaw, SCOTUSblog, Concurring...
July 20, 2013
On the Internet there is no rule against perpetuities. To the contrary our perpetuation seems assured. Latest case in point: the new Legal Blawgs Web Archive from the Library of Congress. Yes, just as the LOC is archiving all of our tweets, turns out it is also archiving a selection of legal blog posts, and has been doing so since March 1, 2007. Thanks to our tax dollars, future generations of Americans will be assured the opportunity to revisit posts from blogs such as The Volokh Conspiracy, Overlawyered, Slaw, SCOTUSblog, Concurring...
The Next Big Opportunity for Startups
July 20, 2013
There is a lot that is different: An idea can go from concept to creation practically overnight. Red solo cups are more common than red tape. Failure is seen as a bit more inevitable. The ping pong tables and the Kegerator purring quietly in the corner make work at a tech startup look different, too. However, when you strip away those symbols, what's left are rows and rows of people typing away at computers, looking pretty much like any company in America. Every company, even the massive companies...
July 20, 2013
There is a lot that is different: An idea can go from concept to creation practically overnight. Red solo cups are more common than red tape. Failure is seen as a bit more inevitable. The ping pong tables and the Kegerator purring quietly in the corner make work at a tech startup look different, too. However, when you strip away those symbols, what's left are rows and rows of people typing away at computers, looking pretty much like any company in America. Every company, even the massive companies...
Texas Maximum Child Support Cap Is Changing September 1, 2013
July 19, 2013
Currently, there is a cap in the monthly net resources used when calculating child support in Texas. The current child support cap in Texas is $7,500.00 net monthly resources per month. Depending on the number of children involved, the monthly net resources are then multiplied by a percentage for the number of children a parent has a duty to support as represented below. Beginning September 1, 2013, the cap in the monthly net resources used when calculating child support will be increased to $8,550.00...
July 19, 2013
Currently, there is a cap in the monthly net resources used when calculating child support in Texas. The current child support cap in Texas is $7,500.00 net monthly resources per month. Depending on the number of children involved, the monthly net resources are then multiplied by a percentage for the number of children a parent has a duty to support as represented below. Beginning September 1, 2013, the cap in the monthly net resources used when calculating child support will be increased to $8,550.00...
Regulating, Certifying, Creating Barriers to Entry….
July 19, 2013
The Spring 2013 issue of Dispute Resolution — the excellent publication of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section — is devoted to mediator criteria, qualifications, accreditation, regulation, and so on. The International Mediation Institute was founded with a mission to create standards for mediator professionalism. And in Prague a few weeks ago, the World Mediation Forum reported on astonishingly harsh regulations for those who offer themselves as mediators. A panel was offered featuring...
July 19, 2013
The Spring 2013 issue of Dispute Resolution — the excellent publication of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section — is devoted to mediator criteria, qualifications, accreditation, regulation, and so on. The International Mediation Institute was founded with a mission to create standards for mediator professionalism. And in Prague a few weeks ago, the World Mediation Forum reported on astonishingly harsh regulations for those who offer themselves as mediators. A panel was offered featuring...
SCOTUS Affirms Arbitrator’s Decision To Allow Class Arbitration in Sutter
July 19, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Sutter today, unanimously holding that as long as the arbitrator bases a decision to allow or disallow class arbitration on the text of the parties’ agreement, her “construction holds, however good, bad, or ugly.” Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, 569 U.S. ___ (June 10, 2013). The case resolved a circuit split on how to interpret SCOTUS’ Stolt-Nielsen decision. It also proved me right (yahoo!). (I predicted the Court would affirm...
July 19, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Sutter today, unanimously holding that as long as the arbitrator bases a decision to allow or disallow class arbitration on the text of the parties’ agreement, her “construction holds, however good, bad, or ugly.” Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, 569 U.S. ___ (June 10, 2013). The case resolved a circuit split on how to interpret SCOTUS’ Stolt-Nielsen decision. It also proved me right (yahoo!). (I predicted the Court would affirm...
In Quest of the Arbitration Trifecta, or Closed Door Litigation?
July 19, 2013
Pepperdine University School of Law Professor Thomas J. Stipanowich has published In Quest of the Arbitration Trifecta, or Closed Door Litigation?: The Delaware Arbitration Program, Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship and the Law, Forthcoming; Pepperdine University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2013/10. In his article, Professor Stipanowich examines the Delaware Arbitration Program. The unique and voluntary program was established and implemented in 2009 in order to settle disputes between...
July 19, 2013
Pepperdine University School of Law Professor Thomas J. Stipanowich has published In Quest of the Arbitration Trifecta, or Closed Door Litigation?: The Delaware Arbitration Program, Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship and the Law, Forthcoming; Pepperdine University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2013/10. In his article, Professor Stipanowich examines the Delaware Arbitration Program. The unique and voluntary program was established and implemented in 2009 in order to settle disputes between...
SEC Seeks Public Comment on Arbitrator Selection Rule Proposal
July 19, 2013
The SEC has published for public comment a rule change proposal filed by FINRA to alter the arbitrator selection method in three-arbitrator customer cases. Comments are due by July 11, 2013. Currently, customers must elect a panel composition method at the beginning of a case, with the default method being the Majority Public Panel option that results in one non-public (i.e. securities industry-affiliated) arbitrator sitting on a three-arbitrator panel. Currently , customers can opt out of that...
July 19, 2013
The SEC has published for public comment a rule change proposal filed by FINRA to alter the arbitrator selection method in three-arbitrator customer cases. Comments are due by July 11, 2013. Currently, customers must elect a panel composition method at the beginning of a case, with the default method being the Majority Public Panel option that results in one non-public (i.e. securities industry-affiliated) arbitrator sitting on a three-arbitrator panel. Currently , customers can opt out of that...
Teaching with Teaching a New Negotiation Skills Paradigm
July 18, 2013
I am in the process of thinking about the last year and what worked, or didn’t work, in my classes. As part of that process, I thought I would share one new approach I took this year that I thought worked very well in my negotiation class. This new approach is thanks to Andrea Schneider’s Teaching a New Negotiation Skills Paradigm, 39 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol’y 13 (2012) or on SSRN. For those who haven’t yet read this article, Andrea recommends that when we teach negotiation we should...
July 18, 2013
I am in the process of thinking about the last year and what worked, or didn’t work, in my classes. As part of that process, I thought I would share one new approach I took this year that I thought worked very well in my negotiation class. This new approach is thanks to Andrea Schneider’s Teaching a New Negotiation Skills Paradigm, 39 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol’y 13 (2012) or on SSRN. For those who haven’t yet read this article, Andrea recommends that when we teach negotiation we should...
