I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay my respects today to Lou Reed, he of the Velvet Underground and Walk on the Wild Side fame.  If you’re not quite sure why there’s so much press about his passing yesterday, check out this from Allmusic about Reed, and about the Velvet Underground, and give their ground … Continue reading Lou Reed – Thank You and RIP →

Article by that title in this morning’s National Law Journal (here).  Of course, with that title, it could have been book-length.  But the article, written by two partners at Sidley Austin in L.A., really focuses only on arbitration.  The authors captured employer sentiment beautifully with the phrase, “You Had Me at Class Action Waiver.”  It’s … Continue reading “The Pros and Cons of ADR Clauses” →

The Los Angeles Times published an article here  about a pilot program in the federal courts in Southern California which allows a small number of defendants facing federal charges to complete sentences without prison time and, in some cases, to have their cases dismissed. It is unclear from the article what the intake procedure is … Continue reading Federal Problem Solving Courts →

Next week, my alma mater (Marietta College in Ohio) is presenting a fall concert titled, “Music During Times of Conflict.”  Really interesting to think about conflict through lens of a music department, and even though I’ve long been a vocal proponent of an interdisciplinary / liberal arts approach to understanding conflict, I confess that I’d … Continue reading “Music During Times of Conflict” →

The Third Circuit has affirmed the District Court decision striking down Delaware’s Chancery Arbitration scheme in Delaware Coalition for Open Government v. Strine. Like the District Court, the Third Circuit applied the “experience and logic test” to conclude that the First Amendment confers a right of public access to the Chancery arbitrations because there has been … Continue reading Third Circuit Rejects Delaware Chancery Arbitration Scheme →

Liz Tippett (Oregon) has posted a short abstract outlining her new project, Mediation a la Carte: Improving the Transparency and Diversity of Mediator Styles. It is a must-read for those of us interested in the implications of the various approaches available to mediators and disputants. You can review her abstract here.

We had New York Times journalist Tina Rosenberg visit the law school this week in honor of the ABA’s Mediation Week and she was fascinating.  First, she is a recipient of the MacArthur “genius” grant which she used to travel to South America and lived there for several years.  Second, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her … Continue reading Solutions Lawyering? →

Attorney negotiation ethics is a timeless topic as evidenced in a recent contribution from Peter Reilly (Texas A&M), Andrea, and me entitled, Attorneys and Negotiation Ethics: A Material Misunderstanding? 29 Negotiation J. 265 (2013), (on SSRN and available for download here).  The paper discusses the common themes across our various empirical work on the subject, … Continue reading Attorneys and Negotiation Ethics: A Material Misunderstanding? →

NYS Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Proclaim Thursday, October 17 as Mediation Settlement Day Everyone can benefit from learning about mediation and other Alternative Dispute Resolution resources to resolve conflicts and disputes peacefully. Throughout the month of October, Mediation Settlement Day sponsors offer special programs to increase understanding about mediation … Continue reading Happy Mediation Settlement Day! →

Article in this month’s ABA Journal, available here. As is so often the case, even a simple narrative here offers the juxtaposition of efficiency / courtclog issues, human rights, and cultural differences.  Less articulation of some of the other kinds of mediation features than one often sees.  But still, enough here that you could probably … Continue reading ABA Journal on Mediation in India →