With the first Monday in October nearly upon us, it will be interesting to see how Justice Sotomayor votes in the Supreme Court’s upcoming arbitration cases, especially the controversial AT & T v. Concepcion. Sotomayor did not participate in Stolt-Nielsen, which produced a 5-3 majority with Ginsburg, Breyer, and the now-retired Justice Stevens in the … Continue reading Sotomayor on Arbitration
Last month, a New York Times published an article on the breakup of a well known matrimonial law firm in New York City. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/nyregion/29divorce.html?emc=eta1 The article compares this breakup to several of the high profile and messy divorces that the firm has handled. The information in the article certainly echoes the stories we hear in divorce … Continue reading Breaking up is hard, even with practice
This week we discussed plea bargaining in my seminar. I asked students whether they thought that the cost of imprisonment should be a factor in plea negotiations. I posed this question after Sunday’s New York Times reported that Missouri is the first state in the country that requires judges be given information about the costs of … Continue reading Does Cost Matter?
Today’s New York Times includes an article discussing—in less than glowing terms—Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program. The article suggests that the program is slanted toward lenders, because it seems to help relatively few homeowners reach permanent modifications allowing them to retain their houses. I’m not an expert on foreclosure mediation—Andrea and others who run those programs … Continue reading NY Times Skeptical of Foreclosure Mediation
Many refer to elections as the ultimate in peaceful dispute resolution. The international community places great importance on the power of elections to bring change and transition in countries around the world. However, whether this approach makes sense is debated in the democratization community as many question “sequencing” and whether it is better to first … Continue reading Afghanistan adopts the “Chicago Model”
The changing (declining?) fortunes of lawyers have been much in the news recently, with the anxiety caused by a contracting domestic job market exacerbated by reports of increased legal outsourcing. In an attempt to peek over the horizon, my dean asked me to read Richard Susskind’s The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal … Continue reading “The End of Lawyers?”
The Mediation and Negotiation Clinic at Harvard is on a hiring spree with a second job posting in the same week, this one for the permanent position of Assistant Director of the Clinic. The job posting is here, and an excerpt is below. Go here for information on the Clinical Instructor position, which was posted earlier this … Continue reading Assistant Director at the Harvard Mediation and Negotiation Clinic
The AALS Dispute Resolution Section’s Executive Committee is seeking a host for the 5th Annual Works-in-Progress Conference to take place in the fall of 2011. The Section’s Executive Committee has decided to extend the proposal deadline to noon Eastern time on Monday September 20th. Proposals should be sent to me care of my assistant Suzy Lynn at … Continue reading Proposal Deadline Extended – AALS Works-in-Progress Conference
Hot off the presses – Bob Bordone has announced that the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program is accepting applications for a new Clinical Instructor and Lecturer on Law, a 2 year position starting on July 1, 2011. Go here for the complete job description along with directions to apply, and an excerpt from the listing is below. … Continue reading Clinical Instructor and Lecture on Law – Harvard Law School
The recent news coverage regarding threats to burn the Koran have not filled me with hope, or made me smile, until now. A man was planning to burn the Koran in a public park in Amarillo, Texas. That plan was thwarted by the quick action of a local skateboarding protester. He grabbed the Koran after … Continue reading “Dude, you’ve got no Koran”
