Category Archives: General

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If you are interested in learning more about the complex world of military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, I recommend Losing Small Wars: British Military Failure in Iraq and Afghanistan by Frank Ledwidge. This book is a unique analysis of current events firmly placed within their historical context. The author is not only a dear … Continue reading Read all about it

Florida Foreclosure Mediation Program Ends with a Yawn

Florida has ended its foreclosure mediation program begun in 2009. The state Supreme Court scuttled the program because it was only settling 4% of the cases. It appears the program had lots of problems, including a failure to contact borrowers and a resistance by lenders to participate actively. What else is new? The legislatures and … Continue reading Florida Foreclosure Mediation Program Ends with a Yawn

Sarah Cole vs. (part of prior versions of) The Arbitration Fairness Act

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

In Court, but Out of Sight: Chancery Court Arbitration

In late November, a first-of-its-kind arbitration ended when the mobile phone technology companies Skyworks and AATI settled their dispute over their failed merger. Although there was no award, the arbitration was significant because the arbitrator was a judge on the Delaware Court of Chancery–which just happens to be the court in which the claim was … Continue reading In Court, but Out of Sight: Chancery Court Arbitration

Originalism, Arbitration, and the Civil Jury

In Buckeye Check Cashing v. Cardegna, Justice Scalia authored an opinion for the Supreme Court holding that, where a consumer credit contract contains an arbitration provision, the arbitrator rather than a court decides all questions about the legality of the underlying debt instrument. Buckeye’s holding was controversial, because it effectively pushes a consumer debtor into arbitration … Continue reading Originalism, Arbitration, and the Civil Jury

FINRA’s Board of Governors to Consider Several DR Proposals

Tomorrow, FINRA’s Board of Governors is holding its December 2011 meeting, and on its agenda are several rule proposals in the Dispute Resolution area.  FINRA has been very active in continuously reforming and updating its Codes of Procedure for arbitration and mediation, to address concerns and critique from its various constituents.   The proposals related to FINRA … Continue reading FINRA’s Board of Governors to Consider Several DR Proposals

Ganson on Business and Conflict Prevention

Brian Ganson (University of Stellenbosch Business School, Cape Town, South Africa) has published a paper with the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform (2011, Series Paper No. 2) in connection with their conference on “Strengthening International Support for Conflict Prevention.” From the Introduction: Practitioners, scholars and institutional actors focus on the predatory aspects of business in fragile environments … Continue reading Ganson on Business and Conflict Prevention