Earlier this month, I received an email from the National HQ of my college sorority, Alpha Chi Omega (yes, it is painful to admit that I pledged a sorority in college), notifying me of the new “Claims and Dispute Resolution Program” the national organization had adopted “to ensure a timely and productive process to resolve issues which … Continue reading ADR for Greek Life? →

Here’s an announcement about a forthcoming symposium on ADR at Quinnipiac University School of Law, on October 19, 2012: The Connecticut Bar Foundation and Quinnipiac University School of Law present The Eighth John A. Speziale ADR Symposium:  “ADR in Hard Times: Can Alternative Dispute Resolution Maintain Access to Justice When Resources Are Limited?”  Friday, October 19, 2012, Quinnipiac University … Continue reading Save the Date: ADR Symposium at Quinnipiac Law →

I am pleased to publish this guest post from Vikki Rogers, Director of the Pace Institute of International Commercial Law and Adjunct Professor of Law at Pace Law School and Fordham Law School: Are We Meeting the Needs of Merchants and Consumers Looking to Buy and Sell Cross-Border?  Thoughts on UNCITRAL’s Working Group III on … Continue reading Vikki Rogers on UNCITRAL’s Working Group III on Online Dispute Resolution →

Robert C. Bordone, the Director of Harvard’s Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program, posted this announcement today on various listservs: “I’m happy to report that our negotiation and mediation clinic is growing once again. We will be adding a new Clinical Fellow position to our team as soon as can identify a strong candidate. This position is … Continue reading Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinic Seeking Clinical Fellow →

Earlier this week, FINRA DR announced that it has launched a pilot program designed to allow parties to customize the administration of cases involving damages of $10 million or more. Parties who choose to opt into the pilot can “bypass” some of FINRA’s arbitration rules, and design their own administrative process to enhance party flexibility … Continue reading FINRA Dispute Resoution Launches Pilot Program to Administer Large Cases →

Judge Denise Cote in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week held that a class action waiver in a pre-dispute arbitration clause in eBooks purchasers’ customer agreements rendered the arbitration agreement unenforeceable because the costs of pursuing claims individually would not permit individuals to vindicate their statutory rights.  See In re Electronic Books … Continue reading SDNY Court Voids Arbitration Clause with Class Action Waiver →

Not surprisingly, as reported here by the Legal Skills Prof Blog yesterday, Microsoft announced that it was revising all of its consumer contracts to add class action waivers.  Consumers will be able to pursue low dollar value disputes individually in either small claims court or arbitration, but will not be able to aggregate them with … Continue reading Microsoft adding class action waiver to its consumer contracts →

Earlier this year, I blogged about the spat between FINRA and Charles Schwab over Schwab’s class action waiver in its customer agreement’s arbitration provision.  Schwab sought a declaratory judgment from the court that its class action waiver did not violate FINRA’s rules and/or that AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion barred FINRA from enforcing its rule to … Continue reading District court denies Schwab’s request for declaratory judgment against FINRA →

I’ve emerged from grading finals to discover that the AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion case has entered a  new chapter.  As most readers know, the Supreme Court, in its April 2011 opinion, reversed the district court’s denial of AT&T Mobility’s motion to compel arbitration, and remanded the case back to the district court for “further proceedings consistent with … Continue reading District court compels arbitration in Concepcion →