I just returned from a fabulous weekend in Hong Kong (and yes, I would suggest staying longer next time.) Nadja Alexander, Jim Coben, and Chris Honeyman put together a really diverse and interesting group of people to discuss Modern Negotiation and Ancient Wisdom. The articles coming out of the conference will form the next issue … Continue reading Tan Pan Symposium
The 7th Annual AALS DR Section Works-in-Progress conference starts this Thursday, November 7, at Cardozo School of Law. Many of the indisputably bloggers will be there to participate in the conference and report on the hot trends, buzzworthy developments, etc. More soon!
The UK Ministry of Justice is proposing to save £220 million (approximately $351 million) by paying lawyers so that they will receive more money if they plead their clients guilty early in their criminal case, rather than waiting longer or going to trial. According to the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association, there are situations … Continue reading An Unfortunate Proposal to Encourage Plea Bargaining Early and Often
From this morning’s Chronicle of Higher Ed (here). The state of Maryland and lawyers representing historically black colleges have agreed to mediation after a federal judge ruled this month that the state had failed to fully desegregate its public higher-education system. The ruling stemmed from a 2006 lawsuit filed by students and alumni of the … Continue reading “Maryland Agrees to Mediation to Resolve College-Desegregation Ruling”
I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay my respects today to Lou Reed, he of the Velvet Underground and Walk on the Wild Side fame. If you’re not quite sure why there’s so much press about his passing yesterday, check out this from Allmusic about Reed, and about the Velvet Underground, and give their ground … Continue reading Lou Reed – Thank You and RIP
Article by that title in this morning’s National Law Journal (here). Of course, with that title, it could have been book-length. But the article, written by two partners at Sidley Austin in L.A., really focuses only on arbitration. The authors captured employer sentiment beautifully with the phrase, “You Had Me at Class Action Waiver.” It’s … Continue reading “The Pros and Cons of ADR Clauses”
The Los Angeles Times published an article here about a pilot program in the federal courts in Southern California which allows a small number of defendants facing federal charges to complete sentences without prison time and, in some cases, to have their cases dismissed. It is unclear from the article what the intake procedure is … Continue reading Federal Problem Solving Courts
Next week, my alma mater (Marietta College in Ohio) is presenting a fall concert titled, “Music During Times of Conflict.” Really interesting to think about conflict through lens of a music department, and even though I’ve long been a vocal proponent of an interdisciplinary / liberal arts approach to understanding conflict, I confess that I’d … Continue reading “Music During Times of Conflict”
The Third Circuit has affirmed the District Court decision striking down Delaware’s Chancery Arbitration scheme in Delaware Coalition for Open Government v. Strine. Like the District Court, the Third Circuit applied the “experience and logic test” to conclude that the First Amendment confers a right of public access to the Chancery arbitrations because there has been … Continue reading Third Circuit Rejects Delaware Chancery Arbitration Scheme
Liz Tippett (Oregon) has posted a short abstract outlining her new project, Mediation a la Carte: Improving the Transparency and Diversity of Mediator Styles. It is a must-read for those of us interested in the implications of the various approaches available to mediators and disputants. You can review her abstract here.
