After enduring decades of TV shows about litigators, prosecutors, defenders and judges, we can look forward to viewing a new TV series that USA Network is poised to launch about a divorced lawyer turned mediator, according to this article in The Hollywood Reporter. It remains to be seen, however, whether the show will portray mediators fairly and accurately. … Continue reading Finally, a TV show about a mediator…
Referring to mandatory, binding arbitration, one of my Civil Procedure students just forwarded the following link to me: http://consumerist.com/5148154/mandatory-binding-arbitration-the-worst-choose-your-own-adventure-ever As a kid, my favorite Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book (I forget its name) was one in which the only way to get to the happy place was to completely disregard the rules and just turn to that page. … Continue reading The Worst Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Ever ?
Last week, we were privileged to hear Professor Michael Klarman speak on Why Brown v. Board of Education Was a Hard Case. This was one of the most enjoyable and interesting talks I have heard in a long time–I highly recommend it and you can click here to get the webcast. My guess is that this … Continue reading Brown v. Board of Education as a Disputing Process Lesson
The winners of the ABA’s 2009 Boskey Dispute Resolution Essay Competition for Law Students were recently announced, and awards the winners are [drum roll please]: First prize went to Andrea Yang from the Georgetown University Law Center for her paper entitled Ethics Codes for Mediator Conduct: Necessary But Still Insufficient. Honorable Mention was awarded to … Continue reading Boeskey Competition Winners Announced
Our friends at St.Johns in NYC are hosting an interesting conference on the intersection of bankruptcy and dispute resolution entitled ADR Meets Bankruptcy: Cross-Purposes or Cross-Pollination? There’s a good line-up of speakers, which should make the program worth your time if you can go. In this economic climate, I expect there’s plenty of intersection of … Continue reading ADR Meets Bankruptcy: Cross-Purposes or Cross-Pollination?
Last week I had the honor of joining my colleague Janine Geske on her regular journey to Green Bay Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison reminiscent of the prison in Shawshank Redemption. The prisoners at Green Bay run the gamut of serious crimes from sexual assault to drug distribution to armed robbery to homicide. Janine … Continue reading Go to Prison
Since I’ve been posting about hiring in the legal academic market this year, I’d be remiss if I failed to plug the Aspiring Law Professors Conference that we’re hosting here at Arizona State on Saturday October 17th. The conference is designed for those who are going on the teaching market and will focus on issues … Continue reading Aspiring Law Professors Conference
Another case in the line of cases holding parties to their commitments to mediate before filing suit. Earlier this month, in Adams v. Newport Crest Homeowners Association, 2009 WL 2875361, (Cal.App. 4 Dist., 2009), a California appellate court upheld the dismissal of a case on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to pursue mediation prior … Continue reading Contractual Agreements to Mediate
Another interesting case from the Daily Labor Report: Fifth Circuit 2-1 Affirms Lower Court Ruling Some KBR Injury Claims Were Not Arbitrable A former employee of Halliburton Co. who alleges that she was raped by other employees while working for the defense contractor in Iraq is not required by her employment contract to arbitrate claims … Continue reading Fifth Circuit Decides Arbitration Clause Scope Issue
The Works-in-Progress conference is still accepting abstracts and I want to strongly encourage everyone to think about adding this to their agenda for the fall. The announcement is below and feel free to email me with any questions: Call for Papers and Abstracts Works in Progress Conference AALS Dispute Resolution Section November 13-14, 2009 … Continue reading Works in Progress Conference at Harvard
