From Donna Shestowsky: On behalf of the AALS Section on ADR, I hope you will join us in DC for the AALS Annual Meeting. Registration is open. Here is some information about our section’s program, which will also serve as our section meeting: In the spirit of the AALS’s recognition of the need for “Defending … Continue reading AALS Program on Difficult Conversations in Polarized Times
My colleague, Ilhyung Lee, pointed me to another graduation speech highlighting the importance of generally listening respectfully to and engaging with people we disagree with. He sent me a link to a speech by University of Chicago Law Professor Tom Ginsburg, entitled “Conversation and Democracy.” I had cited Bret Stephen’s speech and Jen Reynolds linked … Continue reading What We Do Is So Important
I posted my short article, The Deplorable Vanishing of Fox’s Trial, on the NYC-DR listserv, which prompted several responses including this one: Given the magnitude of the settlement I question whether the judge imploring the parties to settle made much difference. I do think the decisions on the summary judgment motion, which left open only … Continue reading The Deplorable Vanishing of Fox’s Trial-Part 2
I just wrote another short piece you might want to read, The Deplorable Vanishing of Fox’s Trial. Here’s the abstract. About 20 years ago, there was a flurry of worries about “the vanishing trial.” Professor Marc Galanter described trials as having the potential for “deep accountability” where facts are exposed and responsibility is assessed. The … Continue reading The Deplorable Vanishing of Fox’s Trial
I recently posted a short article you might want to read, The Importance of Really Listening – For Ourselves, Others, and Democracy. Here’s the abstract. This article discusses how listening carefully can help others and ourselves and is important for healthy democratic processes. Relying on Kathryn Schulz’s book, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of … Continue reading The Importance of Really Listening – For Ourselves, Others, and Democracy
Dominion Voting Systems’s filings for its motion for summary judgment included incredible smoking gun evidence that Fox News and its parent, Fox Corporation, knowingly published false statements with wild allegations about Dominion’s supposed role in promoting voter fraud in the 2020 election. The court’s ruling on the motion last week was much more damning than Dominion’s … Continue reading Fox’s Sizzling Bazookas
This post started as a response to Jen Reynolds’s comment about my Avatar Mediation post. It has grown into this new post about AI generally, growing anxiety about it and the state of the world, and how we can manage this anxiety. AI Risks . . . and Potential Benefits Jen wrote, “I hope that … Continue reading AI, ADR, and Anxiety
I have been reading the classic dystopian novel, 1984, which has eerie echoes in the present day. It is modeled on Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany and “examines the role of truth and facts within societies and the ways in which they can be manipulated,” according to the Wikipedia summary. It takes place in Oceania, … Continue reading 1984 in 2023
Black’s Law Dictionary definition of “smoking gun” could be Dominion Voting System’s brief supporting its motion for summary judgment against Fox “News.” Dominion’s argument is summed up in a Washington Post headline, “Fox News feared losing viewers by airing truth about election, documents show. ‘Everything at stake here,’ billionaire founder Rupert Murdoch wrote to a … Continue reading Fox’s Smoking Gun
Kevin McCarthy’s quest to become speaker of the House of Representatives is a master class in how not to negotiate. He became what New York Times columnist Paul Krugman calls “speaker in name only” after fifteen ballots over five days. Election of a speaker normally is a routine event, and this was the first time … Continue reading How Not to Negotiate
