FINRA Brings Enforcement Action Against Charles Schwab For Class Action Waiver in its Customer Agreement

February 1, 2012 Jill Gross 2 Comments

In a very interesting development with implications for the fate of class action waivers in the securities dispute context, FINRA Enforcement filed a complaint today against broker-dealer and FINRA member Charles Schwab for including a class action waiver in its customer agreement. Schwab had amended its customer agreement to include the class action waiver in October … Continue reading FINRA Brings Enforcement Action Against Charles Schwab For Class Action Waiver in its Customer Agreement →

Moritz College of Law Students win CPR Awards

January 24, 2012 Sarah Cole 3 Comments

I would be remiss in my duties as director of the Moritz College of Law if I did not offer my congratulations to the student winners of the annual CPR academic awards — both of whom are members of the Moritz College of Law class of 2011. From our press release: Michael Diamond ’11 wrote … Continue reading Moritz College of Law Students win CPR Awards →

Southwest Jr. Clinicians Conference – March 16, 2012 at Arizona State

January 23, 2012 art hinshaw

I know this is an ADR board, but ADR programs have clinics too. If you know any clinicians (or non-clinicians) who might be interested our upcoming program, please forward the announcement for the Southwest Jr. Clinicians Conference below. Have you been a clinician for less than ten years? If so come and join us at … Continue reading Southwest Jr. Clinicians Conference – March 16, 2012 at Arizona State →

Will the CFPB Take Action on Mandatory Arbitration?

January 23, 2012 Paul Kirgis 1 Comment

The consensus had been the Consumer Financial Products Board, finally (but perhaps temporarily) able to act since the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as Director, would have too much on its plate to move quickly on its Congressional mandate to study consumer arbitration in financial services agreements. But Cordray was quoted in a Washington Post … Continue reading Will the CFPB Take Action on Mandatory Arbitration? →

Negotiation and Ethics – in the Palm of Your Hand?

January 23, 2012 art hinshaw 2 Comments

Friend of Indisputably, Kristen Blankley, provides this guest post on an two new cell phone apps to keep important information at your fingertips. Who says that the answers to complicated questions arising from negotiation strategy and legal ethics cannot be answered at the tip of your fingers? Thanks to two recently developed apps, they can. The first … Continue reading Negotiation and Ethics – in the Palm of Your Hand? →

New Dispute Resolution Center for Complex Financial Transactions Opens in The Hague

January 20, 2012 Jill Gross 1 Comment

From the Global Arbitration Review (1/16/12): “The world’s first specialist centre to resolve disputes arising from complex financial transactions has opened in The Hague. PRIME Finance – the Panel for Recognised International Market Experts – was declared open for business today by the Dutch minister of finance, Jan Kees de Jager. It will draw on … Continue reading New Dispute Resolution Center for Complex Financial Transactions Opens in The Hague →

SDNY Invalidates Class Waiver for FLSA Claim

January 20, 2012 Paul Kirgis 2 Comments

Earlier this month, the NLRB ruled that employers may not require employees to consent to the waiver of class rights as part of an employment arbitration agreement. The NLRB’s rationale was that the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Norris-LaGuardia Act guarantee employees the right to enforce their provisions through collective action. Now, in Sutherland … Continue reading SDNY Invalidates Class Waiver for FLSA Claim →

Institute for Transnational Arbitration: First Annual Winter Forum in San Francisco – February 1-2, 2012

January 19, 2012 Jill Gross

I am pleased to share this invitation from Susan Franck (Wash. & Lee): I wish to draw your attention to the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) and its First Annual Winter Forum in San Francisco. It is the first event of its kind that is designed to drawn together the synergies of serious scholars of … Continue reading Institute for Transnational Arbitration: First Annual Winter Forum in San Francisco – February 1-2, 2012 →

Weidemaier on How Arbitrators Use and Create Precedent

January 18, 2012 Jen Reynolds 1 Comment

Mark Weidemaier (University of North Carolina) has posted Judging Lite: How Arbitrators Use and Create Precedent. The abstract: Common wisdom has it that arbitrators neither follow nor make precedent, with potentially dire consequences. These include the failure to enforce individual rights and the possibility that, over time, widespread use of arbitration will result in the … Continue reading Weidemaier on How Arbitrators Use and Create Precedent →

How Will Courts Review the NLRB Employment Class Action Decision?

January 18, 2012 Paul Kirgis 3 Comments

Jean Sternlight’s post on the NLRB’s decision in D.R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda cogently summarizes the NLRB’s rationale for treating class waivers differently in the employment context governed by the NLRA than in other FAA contexts. As she points out, this decision is controversial. Because it runs counter to a steady current of Supreme Court … Continue reading How Will Courts Review the NLRB Employment Class Action Decision? →