“PIABA Submits Petition to SEC to Eliminate Requirement of Industry Arbitrator in Customer Disputes”
Read Professor Black’s Securities Law Prof Blog posting here.
The Obama Administration’s Plan for Securities Arbitration
From p. 72 of the Treasury Department’s Financial Regulatory Reform blueprint (entitled “A New Foundation: Rebuilding Financial Supervision and Regulation”) released today: The SEC should study the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in investor contracts. Broker-dealers generally require their customers to contract at account opening to arbitrate all disputes. Although arbitration may be a reasonable … Continue reading The Obama Administration’s Plan for Securities Arbitration
Elections and Dispute Resolution – A Card Game
In contrast to the election turmoil occurring in Iran, an interesting alternative for settling an election occurred in suburban Phoenix yesterday. The City of Cave Creek recently had an election for their city council and two candidates had a runoff election for the last council seat. They ended up tied with 660 votes each. How did … Continue reading Elections and Dispute Resolution – A Card Game
Supreme Court grants cert in another FAA-related case
Today, the United States Supreme Court granted a cert petition in Stolt-Nielsen S.A., et al., v. Animalfeeds International Corp., 548 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2008). The Court agreed to decide the question originally presented but ultimately not decided in Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle, 539 U.S. 444 (2003) — whether imposing class arbitration on parties whose … Continue reading Supreme Court grants cert in another FAA-related case
NPR Story on the “Arbitration Debate”
On Tuesday, NPR’s afternoon news show All Things Considered aired a piece on arbitration. The piece is interesting, but not favorable. It shares several compelling stories – a female Halliburton employee who was raped by co-workers in Iraq and has to arbitrate her claims against the company, the Public Citizen study where consumers lost 94% of the … Continue reading NPR Story on the “Arbitration Debate”
Obama’s Executive Compensation “Czar” is ADR Savvy
Yesterday, as reported here, President Obama appointed Kenneth Feinberg as the official in charge of determining limits to executive compensation at companies receiving federal bailout money. Mr. Feinberg is no stranger to making compensation determinations involving large sums of money, as he was in charge of determining payouts to families from the September 11 Victim’s … Continue reading Obama’s Executive Compensation “Czar” is ADR Savvy
Does email contribute to conflict in Iraq?
Over the weekend I read a fascinating account of what life is like for international development workers in Iraq (in an email from a colleague). I learned about the dreary living conditions, severe restrictions due to security, and the need to carry around personal protection gear. But, I was most fascinated by the account of … Continue reading Does email contribute to conflict in Iraq?
Negotiation Ethics and Lying about Your Bottom-Line
I’m furiously working on an article and thought I’d seek some input on my line of reasoning about one’s “bottom-line” in negotiations. The ABA’s standing ethics committee has two opinions stating that the “bottom line” is a material fact under Rule 4.1, and as a result, you cannot lie about what your bottom line (and … Continue reading Negotiation Ethics and Lying about Your Bottom-Line
Third Annual Dispute Resolution Works-In-Progress Conference at Harvard this fall–Call for Papers
I am delighted to post the following announcement from Bob Mnookin. Bob will be hosting this year’s Works-in-Progress conference at Harvard. Our first two conferences have been informative, helpful and lots of fun. I am sure that pattern will continue! Dear Colleague, I’m pleased to announce that this fall the Program on Negotiation at … Continue reading Third Annual Dispute Resolution Works-In-Progress Conference at Harvard this fall–Call for Papers
Obama Open Government Initiative
This is a posting courtesy of Lisa Bingham–thanks for sending it along! Last week, I was on a conference call with senior White House officials in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (Beth Noveck, Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government, and Greg Nelson, Associate Director White House Office of Public Engagement). I write to share … Continue reading Obama Open Government Initiative
