From Ethan Katsh (U Mass): The 2014 International Online Dispute Resolution Conference will be held in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, June 25-27, 2014.  ODR 2014 <http://www.odr2014.org>  will bring together the technology, law and dispute resolution communities, academic researchers, representatives of  financial institutions, ecommerce and social media companies, and social justice advocates using innovative technologies … Continue reading ODR Conference in June 2014 at Hastings/Stanford →

In a stunning but hoped-for result (based on am amicus brief I co-authored in the case), FINRA’s Board of Governors reversed a disciplinary hearing panel decision in the FINRA v Schwab enforcement action. (See some of my previous blog posts on the subject, here, here and here.) That hearing panel had held, among other things, that Schwab’s class action … Continue reading FINRA Reverses Hearing Panel in Schwab Enforcement Case: Class Action Waiver Violates FINRA Rules →

At the recent ABA DR Annual Meeting, we had our second installment of the “What I’m Reading” panel. I promised a reading list from panelists and participants; here it is: Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work (Matthew B. Crawford) Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred … Continue reading Booklist from the ABA DR Annual Meeting →

The Transnational Dispute Management Journal has issued a Call for Papers for its upcoming special issue on “Dispute Resolution from a Corporate Perspective.” Proposals due no later than July 31, 2014. Details here.

Cynthia Alkon (Texas A&M) has published “The U.S. Supreme Court’s Failure To Fix Plea Bargaining: The Impact of Lafler and Frye” in the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, available on SSRN here. The abstract: Virtually every criminal conviction in the United States is the result of a guilty plea, not a jury trial. Yet it was … Continue reading Alkon on the Supreme Court and Plea Bargaining →

The New York Times reported yesterday on a new trend among companies selling food products — the use of arbitration clauses. General Mills reportedly created an arbitration clause that would bind consumers who engaged in certain kinds of activity on their website, including downloading coupons or liking their products on Facebook. While such clauses may … Continue reading Should I Keep Eating Cheerios? Food Companies Using Arbitration →

  That is the title of an op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times written by Carrie Menkel-Meadow and Edwin Chemerinsky.  The op-ed cautions against rushing to fix legal education in ways that may do “more harm than good.”  The full op-ed can be read here .

David White (Seton Hall) was recently named Clinical Professor of the Year at Seton Hall (announcement here) and also accepted a civilian appointment to NYPD Police Commissioner Bill Bratton’s “Reengineering 2014” team.  The group will critically examine many facets of the NYPD’s day-to-day operations and offer recommendations for process re-design. Bravo David! MM