The National Law Journal ran a story recently describing the recent appeal of the $3.4B settlement of the contested Native American trust litigation. (Story here.) I have not been following the details of this case closely enough to hold any opinion about the merits of this appeal. But given the magnitude of the settlement and … Continue reading $3.4B Class Action Settlement (and the contest thereof)
The Langdon Fellow Program at Ohio State is just great, and I’m pleased to share that they are seeking applications for a new fellow. A recent email from Sarah Cole announcing the position is pasted below. MM —– Job Description: Langdon Fellowship in Dispute Resolution at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law … Continue reading Langdon Fellow at Ohio State
The National Law Journal’s online edition ran a story this morning (available here, text pasted below) about the more then $3 billion the federal government paid out in settlements in 2011. The Departments of Energy, Agriculture, and Interior led the way in settling “mega-cases,” payment for which apparently comes from the Judgment Fund. I’ve been … Continue reading >$3B in Federal Settlements Last Year
Earlier today, I learned that Raymond Shonholtz died. He was a founder and president of the San Francisco Community Boards. It would be hard to overstate the role these community boards played in the evolution of mediation in the United States, not just the small claims versions thereof, but also many of the facilitative and … Continue reading Raymond Shonholtz: Community Mediation Visionary
Sarah Cole recently published On Babies and Bathwater: The Arbitration Fairness Act and the Supreme Court’s Recent Arbitration Jurisprudence, 48 Houston L. Rev. 457 (2011) (available here). She writes, “The AFA misses the mark primarily because it overstates the case against arbitration, rendering the legislation unpalatable to corporate and business interests, as well as many … Continue reading Sarah Cole vs. (part of prior versions of) The Arbitration Fairness Act
OK, we all send reprints to each other, and that’s good. And many of us scribble little personalized notes to each other on the reprints, and that’s good, too. In theory, though, the personalized note should cause the recipient to want to read the article in question. Below is an example of not that: +MM
An interesting post about the intersection of naive realism, group dynamics, perception, and attribution.I’ve not read the book from the post’s author, but I think I’ll add it to my “I really should read this someday soon” stack. A preview of the post’s conclusion: Other people form into groups, and those group memberships affect how … Continue reading The Illusion of Asymmetric Insight (from youarenotsosmart.com)
In about a week, Russ Feingold will be visiting the University of Oregon. Most in the ADR community know Feingold best for his work promoting the Arbitration Fairness Act in the Senate for many years. This is not a “yay for us” posting. This is an “I need help” posting. As part of Senator Feingold’s … Continue reading What Would You Ask Russ Feingold ? (an actual request for help)
From the National Law Journal yesterday: “Judge stalls Prius headlight settlement, citing ‘big problem’ with fees” —– A federal judge, citing concerns about a request for attorney fees, has put the brakes on a proposed class action settlement between Toyota Motor Corp. and nearly 300,000 owners and lessees of Prius hybrids who claimed that their … Continue reading Prius Headlight Settlement “Stalled”
I just learned that Melanie Greenberg has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance for Peacebuilding. I do not know AFP’s work as well as I probably should, but I think very highly of Melanie, and I’m confident that she’ll do a great job. MM
