OJ Simpson will be back in court this week in Las Vegas bringing an appeal from his 2008 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction in 2008. He has apparently filed, through his new lawyer, a 94-page petition for a new trial—which reportedly includes 19 specific issues that the court has agreed to hear “mostly claiming that … Continue reading Was OJ Simpson’s Lawyer Ineffective?
Back in the day Kevin Underhill and I were young associates at large law firms in Kansas City and living the life that only single people with lots of disposable income can. Now he’s a big time lawyer in San Francisco and has the funniest legal blog there is – Lowering the Bar – and I’m simply … Continue reading If You’re Standing in Front of a Car, You Are In a Poor Negotiating Position
Dear all, as I just sent out to our listserve as well, it is time to remind you of the Boskey Competition for two reasons–(a) I need your students to submit essays; and (b) you might be right now in the midst of grading the next competition winner as we speak. This competition offers your students … Continue reading Boskey Competition Reminder–June 14th Deadline
Once again, a bill to ban mandatory arbitration of consumer, employment and civil rights disputes has been introduced into both houses of Congress. It is sponsored by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). The text is not yet available, but the press release states the following: “What the Arbitration Fairness Act Does: … Continue reading Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013 introduced in Congress
Article from this morning’s online Chronicle of Higher Education here. MM — By Ann Schnoebelen After two shootings on its campus last semester, Morgan State University is taking some of the same security measures increasingly common elsewhere: more officers, a tighter campus perimeter, town-hall meetings to discuss public safety. But the small, historically black college … Continue reading After Shootings, Morgan State U. Will Train Students in Conflict Resolution
Yesterday I blogged about stepped-up political pressures on the Securities and Exchange Commission to outlaw mandatory arbitration agreements in customers’ account agreements with their brokerage firms. The pressures are not coming just from politicians. Last week, a Tennessee appellate court refused to enforce a pre-dispute arbitration clause in a brokerage firms’ account agreement with a customer … Continue reading Tennessee court invalidates brokerage firm’s arbitration clause as unconscionable
In the wake of a FINRA disciplinary hearing panel decision not to enforce its own rules against broker-dealer Charles Schwab barring class action waivers in customer-broker account agreements because of the Federal Arbitration Act (see my previous blog posts about that decision here and here), investor rights advocates have stepped up their efforts to press the Securities … Continue reading Added Pressure on SEC to Eliminate Mandatory Securities Arbitration
Yesterday was the last day of class for our International Conflict Resolution class and, to close, I thought I would post some oversarching comments. Particularly as the new Secretary of State, John Kerry, embarks on what I hope will be a successful quest to learn more about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and encourage the parties to … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2013–American Perspectives on the Middle East
In a poll conducted by Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports, Alternative Dispute Resolution ranked fourth in terms of what areas of law need more attention from the legal academy in terms of more full-time faculty doing research in the area . The full poll results can be found here. So, blog readers, what do you think? … Continue reading ADR on Top Five List of What Needs More Attention From Legal Academy
A highlight of our trip was meeting with Justice Aharon Barak. Barak has been hailed as the father of Israeli constitituional law and Justice Elana Kagan called Justice Barak her “judicial hero.” His remarks covered a widespread range of topics from the development of Israeli law to several difference famous Israeli Supreme Court cases to … Continue reading Israel Reflections 2013–A Meeting with a Judicial Giant
