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
This week academics and practitioners will join together at the 2nd National Conference on Restorative Justice: “Mainstreaming Restorative Justice: Empowering Communities, Restoring Responsibility” at the University of Texas at San Antonio, on May 13-15, 2009. According to the website: “The National Conference on Restorative Justice will feature four primary program tracks. These tracks are: Academic and Research, Faith and … Continue reading Restorative Justice in Texas and Beyond
This is enormously happy news for our field, in my opinion. Bravo, Bob! Read the release here or at http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/news/bordone-appointment.html Michael Moffitt
Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that an arbitration agreement contained in a nursing home contract is enforceable because the 95 year old signatory, Hayes, voluntarily signed it and her signature was not a precondition to her admission to the nursing home. The case, Hayes v. Oakridge Home, Slip Opinion No. 2009-Ohio-2054, focused on whether … Continue reading Ohio Supreme Court Rules that Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement is Enforceable
Following up on my post regarding email negotiation last week, tthe ABA Journal noted this week that there are limits on the use of social spaces in order to gather information: A lawyer who wants to see what a potential witness says to personal contacts on his or her Facebook or MySpace page has one … Continue reading More Advice for Online Contact
