I learned a lot about William Randolph Hearst by watching the PBS American Experience documentary about him. He is best known as a purveyor of “yellow journalism,” promoter of the Spanish-American War, and the target of the Orson Welles film, Citizen Kane. The documentary shows that he has had a huge and continuing impact on … Continue reading What I’m Reading – PBS Documentary on William Randolph Hearst
“Facebook is like a pocketknife: You can use it to peel an apple or stab a janitor at school.” So said tech analyst (and talk-show host) Jimmy Kimmel. Noam Ebner (not a talk-show host) wrote, “Its positive characteristics and opportunities notwithstanding, the Internet has become something similar to a bad neighborhood after dark. … Even … Continue reading What I’m Reading – The Social Dilemma
ODR is likely to be an increasingly important part of legal and dispute resolution processes in the future, with potential benefits and risks. It particularly has great potential to help self-represented litigants (SRLs, aka “pro se” parties). So I was interested to read an article by my colleague, Amy Schmitz, and John Zeleznikow, Intelligent Legal … Continue reading Constructing Good ODR Systems
Who’d expect Netflix to produce a movie about dispute system design? Or that it would be really good? Its docudrama, Worth, about the process of designing and implementing the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund, actually is terrific. (Note that this What-I’m-Reading series isn’t limited to just reading stuff.) It is based on Kenneth Feinberg’s book, What … Continue reading What I’m Reading – Worth
I’m starting this What-I’m-Reading series with two books by Swedish author, Fredrik Backman. They are his first book, A Man Called Ove (OOH-vah), and his latest book, Anxious People. Backman has become quite a phenomenon, publishing a series of books, some of which have been made into movies, including Ove. Ove is a grumpy, get-off-my-lawn … Continue reading What I’m Reading – Frederik Backman Books
Being retired from teaching and faculty meetings leaves time to do other things. (Have you noticed that teaching and faculty meetings take a lot of time?) In recent years, I have been reading books for pleasure, something I rarely did when I was employed. I particularly like to read histories and biographies, though I read … Continue reading What I’m Reading
From Jen Michel on behalf of the ABA Dispute Resolution Spring Conference Planning Committee: Hello colleagues, Just a friendly reminder to those interested in submitting a program proposal for the upcoming ABA Dispute Resolution Spring Conference to be held in Los Angeles, CA April 27-30, 2022: Jointly sponsored by the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution … Continue reading ABA SDR Conference Proposal Deadline – Wednesday, September 29
From Jen Michel: Dear colleagues, Please forgive me for a brief e-introduction in this now-virtual world. My name is Jennifer Michel and I am the new director of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution. I look forward to our paths crossing in the near future. I am also reaching out to share information regarding the … Continue reading ABA Dispute Resolution Mediation Institute on Nov 4-6
What’s sex education got to do with dispute resolution? If you have to ask, maybe you should go back to high school. Wait, that’s a terrible idea. Instead, you might watch the Sex Education series on Netflix, which just dropped its third season. The premise is that an unlikely duo of high school students set … Continue reading Sex Education
Early coal mines didn’t have good ventilation, and miners were at risk from dangerous gases in the mines. So miners would bring canaries into the mines because they were sensitive to the gases and provided a warning of danger. The canaries would sing until they died from the gases. When they stopped singing, miners knew … Continue reading Canaries in the Litigation Coal Mine
