Seeking a host institution! This year will mark the seventh anniversary of the AALS ADR Section Works-in-Progress conference. The WIP is often described as a “must attend” and for good reason. It’s great to spend a day and a half sharing drafts and floating ideas and running theories past other ADR scholars. Last November, Ohio … Continue reading Call for Proposals: Hosting the WIP →

Thanks to Securities Arbitration Alert 2013-01 from the Securities Arbitration Commentator, I learned that the broker-dealer Charles Schwab has amended the arbitration clause in its customer account agreement to remove one of the provisions that led to disciplinary action against it by FINRA Enforcement.  (See my previous blog posts on the subject, here, here and … Continue reading Schwab Amends its Investor PDAA →

FINRA has filed with the SEC a proposal to change the definition of “public arbitrator” in its Codes of Arbitration Procedure to “exclude persons associated with a mutual fund or hedge fund from serving as public arbitrators and to require individuals to wait for two years after ending certain affiliations before they may be permitted to … Continue reading FINRA Rule Proposal to Amend Definition of “Public Arbitrator” →

When I read news articles on-line I now make a conscious habit of not reading the comments.  It turns out this is probably a good thing for more reasons than just that the comments are often annoying.  As one commentator noted, “The online peanut gallery can get you so riled up that your ability to … Continue reading The Problem with Comments →

The quarterly edition of the Moritz College of Law’s Mayhew-Hite Report on Dispute Resolution in the Courts, a joint publication of the Moritz Program on Dispute Resolution and the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, is available at: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/epub/mayhew-hite/2012/12/381/ Highlights of this issue include a transcript of Ken Feinberg’s Lawrence Lecture, given at Moritz last … Continue reading New Issue of Mayhew-Hite Report on Dispute Resolution and the Courts Available →

I started the New Year by welcoming a new member of the family, Ernest, my ten week old Welsh Corgi Puppy.  In the grand Indisputably tradition (thank you Andrea!) I am posting a photo of the world’s cutest Welsh Corgi Puppy. My new puppy is named in honor of Ernest Shackleton, one of the great … Continue reading In Honor of Ernest Shackleton →

Last week the New York Times reported an interesting, and unusual, use of restorative justice in a murder case in Florida.  The parents of a young woman who was killed by her boyfriend, along with the boyfriend, his parents, and the prosecutor, all participated in a pre-trial restorative justice process.  Ultimately the prosecutor offered a plea … Continue reading Restorative Justice for Murder? →

Ever since I learned that George Friedman would be retiring at the end of 2012, I struggled to write a fitting tribute to him and his many accomplishments as Director of Arbitration at FINRA for the past fourteen years.  In lieu of continuing my struggle, I reproduce below a wonderful tribute authored by Rick Ryder … Continue reading FINRA Dispute Resolution Director of Arbitration Retires →

Many of us use a version of the prisoner’s dilemma game as part of our negotiation courses.  In the game, participants have the choice of cooperating with others to get a minimal reward, or they can increase their winnings by taking advantage of everyone else.  After the students play the game, I introduce Robert Axelrod’s … Continue reading Rethinking Tit-for-Tat →