How many innocent defendants plead guilty? Is it common, or is it just an occasional, unfortunate, aberration? Those questions are often posed during discussions of plea bargaining. This is due, in large part, to the fact that it is now well understood that innocent defendants do plead guilty. For example, The Innocence Project at Cardozo School … Continue reading Innocents Pleading Guilty →

The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference Planning Committee is now accepting proposals for the 2013 Spring Conference. The Deadline for Proposals is September 7, 2012. The Conference will take place on April 3-6, 2013 at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park. Proposals can be submitted for concurrent CLE programs, Symposium on ADR in the Courts sessions, Legal … Continue reading Request for Proposals – ABA Dispute Resolution Section Spring Conference →

ASU will be hosting the 3rd annual Aspiring Law Professors Conference on September 15th.   The Conference is designed for Visiting Assistant Professors, Fellows and others who plan to go on the academic  teaching market, but anyone considering a career as a law professor will find it valuable.  To see a short flier for the conference go here, … Continue reading Aspring Law Professors Conference →

Earlier this week, FINRA DR announced that it has launched a pilot program designed to allow parties to customize the administration of cases involving damages of $10 million or more. Parties who choose to opt into the pilot can “bypass” some of FINRA’s arbitration rules, and design their own administrative process to enhance party flexibility … Continue reading FINRA Dispute Resoution Launches Pilot Program to Administer Large Cases →

Judge Denise Cote in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week held that a class action waiver in a pre-dispute arbitration clause in eBooks purchasers’ customer agreements rendered the arbitration agreement unenforeceable because the costs of pursuing claims individually would not permit individuals to vindicate their statutory rights.  See In re Electronic Books … Continue reading SDNY Court Voids Arbitration Clause with Class Action Waiver →

The guidelines for the 2012 CPR Awards are out and can be accessed here.  A blurb about the awards program from the CPR website follows. The CPR Institute’s Awards Programs honors outstanding scholarship and practical achievement in the field of alternative dispute resolution.  Award criteria focuses on process, techniques, systems, commitment, and scholarship which address the resolution, … Continue reading CPR ADR Awards – 2012 Guidelines Announced →

I am happy to post the following announcement from the Institute for Transnational Arbitration for their next meeting in January, 2013. The Institute For Transnational Arbitration 2nd Annual Winter Forum Biltmore Hotel Miami January 24-25, 2013    CALL FOR PAPERS The Executive Committee and Academic Council of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) are proud … Continue reading ITA Winter Forum–Call for Papers →

I just heard Dahlia Lithwick over the weekend on NPR describing her new theory of the world–Muppet Theory–and I am convinced that this could usefully explain much of the legal system as well.  Lithwick, a writer for Slate Magazine and Newsweek, has divided the world into Berts and Ernies.  As she outlines in her article … Continue reading Muppet Theory →

Not surprisingly, as reported here by the Legal Skills Prof Blog yesterday, Microsoft announced that it was revising all of its consumer contracts to add class action waivers.  Consumers will be able to pursue low dollar value disputes individually in either small claims court or arbitration, but will not be able to aggregate them with … Continue reading Microsoft adding class action waiver to its consumer contracts →