The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a court cannot consider an arbitrator’s reputational interest in being appointed again in the future when determining whether that arbitrator is “disinterested” within the meaning of the parties’ arbitration agreement. Trustmark Ins. Co. v. Hancock Life Ins. Co. (USA), __ F.3d __, 2011 WL 285156 (7th … Continue reading Arbitrator’s “Reputational Interest” In Being Appointed Again Does Not Impact His Neutrality →

The anti-consumer arbitration movement is coming to a theatre (and TV screen) near you. HBO just acquired the rights to air, after its Oscar-qualifying theatrical run, the documentary “Hot Coffee,” which premiered at the Sundance Festival in Park City, Utah last week. The documentary tells the story of the woman who obtained a $2.7 million … Continue reading Documentary film at Sundance festival decries tort system and mandatory arbitration →

Last week, France adopted a new law on arbitration, Decree No. 2011-48 dated January 13, 2011. The law, the first French reform of arbitration law since the 1980s, codifies existing case law, reaffirms the French legal system’s support of arbitration, and seeks to establish France as a leader in the field of international arbitration. In … Continue reading France Adopts New Arbitration Law →

In a remarkably short time period, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a proposed rule change filed by FINRA to provide investors with the option of selecting an all public arbitrator panel in arbitrations filed against their brokers or brokerage firms in FINRA’s Dispute Resolution forum. Thus, customer claimants have the option of eliminating an … Continue reading SEC Approves All Public Panel Option for FINRA Customer Arbitrations →

The New York Times printed today an article by its controversial columnist, Gretchen Morgenson, entitled “Arbitration, Litigation, Aggravation.” The article reports on a FINRA arbitration brought by a beneficiary trust of Helen Cohen, an elderly widow who died in 2008, alleging that her broker at the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) improperly recommended that she … Continue reading Is Gretchen Morgenson Now A Fan of Securities Arbitration? →

FINRA is looking for arbitrators for its rosters in many areas of the country, particularly smaller urban areas. FINRA Dispute Resolution provides a forum for the resolution of securities-related disputes, including customer-broker, broker-firm employment disputes, and intra-industry disputes. For a chart of locations where arbitrator applicants are needed and information about how to apply, click … Continue reading FINRA Needs Arbitrators →

My law librarian just forwarded to me this link to an article in West’s newsletter Law Librarians containing very useful tips on researching arbitration awards through West databases.

Kudos to Pepperdine for obtaining a grant from FINRA’s Investor Education Foundation to start a clinic in which students represent investors with small claims in securities mediations and arbitrations. This is the first such clinic in the Southern California area, where many retirees have been desperate for free legal services in this specialized area. See … Continue reading Pepperdine to Launch Investor Advocacy Clinic →

Carrie Sperling (Arizona State) has posted on SSRN an article (to be published at 60 Catholic U. L. Rev. 1 (2010)), on the role of lawyers’ demand letters in negotiations, arguing that scholars have not integrated negotiation theory and legal writing practice when it comes to pre-negotiation demand letters. Here is the abstract: Lawyers frequently … Continue reading Sperling on the Role of Demand Letters in Negotiations →

Cross-posted from Securities Law Prof Blog (authored by Prof. Barbara Black, Dec. 3, 2010): Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) denied Goldman Sach’s motion to vacate a $20.580 million arbitration award obtained by the Official Unsecured Creditors’ Committee of Bayou Group on Nov. 8, 2010 and promised that a written opinion would follow.  The opinion was filed on Nov. … Continue reading SDNY on arbitration – “the wonderous alternative to the rule of reason” →