Restorative Justice Bill Introduced in Virginia’s Senate

Virginia State Senator Emmet Hanger recently introduced a bill in the Virginia Senate which would give formal structure to restorative justice programs in Virginia by specifically recognizing that a court can order an offender into a “court-approved restorative justice program.”  The direct link to the bill is:  http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+SB679  The bill also specifically recognizes that victim … Continue reading Restorative Justice Bill Introduced in Virginia’s Senate

FINRA’s arbitration filings rise almost 50% in 2009

FINRA Dispute Resolution recently posted its December 2009 statistics, providing interesting data for the 2009 calendar year.  Not surprisingly, due the 2007-08 stock market disruptions, 2009 arbitration case filings rose 43% over 2008, from 4,982 to 7,137.  At the same time, turnaround time of cases (from filing to award) happily decreased 12%, from 13.0 months to … Continue reading FINRA’s arbitration filings rise almost 50% in 2009

Deadline looms for closed GM and Chrysler auto dealers to challenge their termination in arbitration

Over 3000 car dealerships whose franchises were terminated by GM and Chrysler as part of those automakers’ bankruptcy restructurings have until midnight this Monday (Jan. 25) to challenge their termination by filing for arbitration in the American Arbitration Association.  Congress imposed this special arbitration process as part of its Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010, an omnibus spending … Continue reading Deadline looms for closed GM and Chrysler auto dealers to challenge their termination in arbitration

The New York State Bar’s Approach to Teaching Women Communication Skills–Are You Kidding Me?

Although the New York State Bar Association has now changed it planned panel for the upcoming meeting next week, this is still a doozy.  Here is Bridget Crawford from the Feminist Law Prof blog last week: The Committee on Women in the Law is sponsoring a program called “Weathering Tough Times: Strategic Planning for Your Practice.” The … Continue reading The New York State Bar’s Approach to Teaching Women Communication Skills–Are You Kidding Me?

Supreme Court Grants Cert in Arbitrability Case

The Supreme Court granted cert in Jackson v. Rent-a-Center West, 09-0947, http://www.scotusblog.com/todays-orders-52/ Karl Bayer posted the question presented on his blog and I repeat it here: The question presented in the case is: Is the district court required in all cases to determine claims that an arbitration agreement subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) … Continue reading Supreme Court Grants Cert in Arbitrability Case

Empirical Scholarship Workshop

The annual Empiricial Scholarshiop Workshop, a joint effort of Northwestern University Law School and Washington University Law School, will take place on May 24-26 at the Norwestern campus in downtown Chicago.  If you’re wondering whether this conference is for you, here’s a short description. The Conducting Empirical Legal Scholarship workshop is for law school faculty interested in … Continue reading Empirical Scholarship Workshop

Moritz College of Law Student Wins CPR’s Best Original Student Article Award

Since others are posting information about CPR awards, let me take this opportunity to congratulate Kevin Mahoney, a recent graduate of Moritz College of Law and former Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, for winning CPR’s award for outstanding student article. In his article, published in the Ohio State Journal on Dispute … Continue reading Moritz College of Law Student Wins CPR’s Best Original Student Article Award

Supreme Court Lets Stand Decision Holding Class Action Ban Unconscionable

From the Daily Labor Report: “The U.S. Supreme Court lets stand the California Court of Appeal’s decision that an arbitration agreement between a trash company and a driver that waives class claims and prohibits the employee from seeking civil penalties on behalf of other workers is unconscionable and so tainted with illegality that it is … Continue reading Supreme Court Lets Stand Decision Holding Class Action Ban Unconscionable

Congrats to Mizzou!

The Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law won the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) 2009 “Problem Solving in Law School Award.”  To read more about the award see http://law.missouri.edu/news/#csdr-011410.  In addition, University of Missouri-Columbia Professor S.I. Strong is the co-recipient of the CPR’s … Continue reading Congrats to Mizzou!