On November 7, the Supreme Court ruled, in a per curiam opinion entitled KPMG LLP v. Cocchi, http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1521.pdf, that a state court must order arbitrable disputes to arbitration even if the plaintiff’s complaint contains both arbitrable and inarbitrable claims. Affirming the strong federal policy in favor of arbitration, the Court stated that, “state and federal … Continue reading Supreme Court Rules that State and Federal Courts Must Enforce Arbitration Agreements Even When Nonarbitrable Claims are Present in Complaint →

I guess I had not been paying much attention but realized today that the Uniform Collaborative Law Act has been adopted by the National Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and has already been adopted in three states: Nevada, Texas and Utah. In addition, in 2011, it has been introduced in Alabama, District of Columbia, Hawaii, … Continue reading Uniform Collaborative Law Act →

It finally hit me yesterday–it’s not that when you travel, you are likely to negotiate.  We’ve written and talked about that before. (See our posts from our Israel trip here.)  Traveling is  negotiation…. at least in terms of preparation.  So, yesterday morning I was flying out of Harrisburg to get home in time to teach … Continue reading Traveling with your BATNA →

For those of you involved in clinical education, I pass along this RFP for a new clinical conference at ASU.  And yes, ADR clinicians are welcome.   Request for Proposals Southwest Junior Clinicians Conference Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University March 16, 2012 – Tempe, Arizona The Sandra Day O’Connor College of … Continue reading RFP Southwest Jr. Clinicians Conference →

An interesting post about the intersection of naive realism, group dynamics, perception, and attribution.I’ve not read the book from the post’s author, but I think I’ll add it to my “I really should read this someday soon” stack. A preview of the post’s conclusion:  Other people form into groups, and those group memberships affect how … Continue reading The Illusion of Asymmetric Insight (from youarenotsosmart.com) →

Last week in honor of ABA Mediation Week, the DR Society here hosted former Senator Russell Feingold for a talk on Civility in Public Discourse.  We had a wonderful off-the-record hour (so I can’t tell you all the good stories!–here is me cracking up at one) but what I can say is heartening in terms … Continue reading Senator Feingold on Civility →

The New York Times last week posted this article about how costumes reveal much about the lawyers wearing them.  (See article & pictures here)  Apparently, a lawyers for a foreclosure law firm in upstate New York thought it would be hilarious and appropriate to dress up as the homeless or poor for their annual Halloween party.  … Continue reading Halloween Evils? →

In about a week, Russ Feingold will be visiting the University of Oregon.  Most in the ADR community know Feingold best for his work promoting the Arbitration Fairness Act in the Senate for many years.  This is not a “yay for us” posting.  This is an “I need help” posting. As part of Senator Feingold’s … Continue reading What Would You Ask Russ Feingold ? (an actual request for help) →