A propos of several recent postings on this blog about the Arbitration Fairness Act, Professor David S. Schwartz (U. Wisconsin) recently posted on SSRN an article entitled “Mandatory Arbitration and Fairness,” forthcoming in the Notre Dame Law Review. Here is the abstract: Until recently, it was understood that mandatory arbitration was a “do-it-yourself tort reform”: … Continue reading Mandatory Arbitration and Fairness
Earlier this month the first drug court in the USA, in Dade County Florida, marked its 20th birthday. Many newspapers observed the anniversary and published what are now fairly commonplace stories about successful participants—along with a new twist of possible drug court closures due to tough economic times. At this point one third of all … Continue reading Happy Therapeutic Birthday: The First Drug Court Turns 20
In the Spring 2009 issue of Conflict Resolution Quarterly appears an article by Charkoudian, de Ritis, Buck and Wilson entitled, Mediation by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet, or Would It? The Struggle to Define Approaches to Mediation. (Vol. 23 Issue 3, p.293.) The authors conducted two studies reasonably contemporaneously, and report them together. … Continue reading More in the quest to define elusive mediator approaches/styles
Yesterday, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced its full support (see press release here) of the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009, which amends the Federal Arbitration Act to bar enforcement of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in a consumer, employment, franchise and civil rights dispute. NASAA, whose membership consists of the securities administrators in the 50 states … Continue reading NASAA Supports Arbitration Fairness Act
My friend and former co-author, E. Gary Spitko, will be publishing an article offering a critique of the Arbitration Fairness Act in the U.C. Davis Law Review. Gary offers an alternative to the very anti-arbitration stance currently articulated in the proposed Act. Gary’s abstract describes his article as follows: On February 12, 2009, lawmakers in … Continue reading Interesting Take on Arbitration Fairness Act by E. Gary Spitko
I’d like to take this time to remind our law professor readers, who are furiously grading papers like I am, to keep the Boskey Essay competition in mind as you read your students’ papers. If you see a paper that stands out, encourage the student to submit it into the competition. The essay may … Continue reading Reminder – Boskey Essay Competition
Many years ago, when I was a deputy public defender in Los Angeles, I represented a client charged with sales of crack cocaine as a third strike. This meant he was facing 25 years to life in prison. My client had no defense and did not deny the charge. The prosecutor offered to “strike a … Continue reading It Just Isn’t Fair: Why Defendants Reject “Good” Plea Bargain Deals
On May 5, I reported on this blog about the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009, now introduced into both the Senate and the House to amend the Federal Arbitration Act to invalidate pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer services, franchise and employment agreements. As currently drafted, it is unclear whether the proposed Act would cover PDAAs … Continue reading Securities Arbitration and the Arbitration Fairness Act
Since many of this blog’s readers are students I want to take a moment to congratulate you on your graduation from law school. I recognize that the downturn in the economy has had a dramatic affect on many of your post graduation employment plans, and nobody signed up for graduating with a heavy debt with … Continue reading Congratulations Graduates !!
Here’s another summary of info from the Legal Educators’ Committee’s program entitled Law Professors’ Forum: Mediation Shop Talk, which was part of last month’s ABA DR Section’s annual meeting in New York. The Forum was split into three separate presentations: a general “plenary” session, the notes for which Andrea posted on May 9th, a clinical section devoted to … Continue reading Law Professors’ Forum: Mediation Shop Talk – Grading in Mediation Clinics
