Law Commons^™

Jewish Law Perspectives On Judicial Settlement Practice, Shlomo Pill

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The classic adjudicatory paradigm of opposing attorneys facing off at trial before a judge and jury in order to receive a favorable judgment is an image long past. Increased litigation volume, and the added time and expense of modern litigation has resulted in a rich practice of judges working to broker settlements between litigants in lieu of formal adjudication. Judicial settlement is the subject of much debate, however, and the diverse range of judicial practice in this area reflects the institutional, ethical, and jurisprudential uncertainties we still have regarding the propriety of judges facilitating settlements. This paper offers a new …

The Adr Loophole To Restrictive Non-Compete Agreements, Jad Itani

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This Comment considers a key question: do employers have a strategy to protect themselves if these restrictive states are restricting corporations from protecting their self-developed trade secrets? In doing so, Part II will discuss an approach that may allow employers to potentially circumvent the restrictive states. This can be achieved by requiring an employee to undergo private arbitration in a dispute with an employer—a strategy that has gained validity in light of the United States Supreme Court’s holding that upholds arbitration clauses even where significant public policy concerns exist. Specifically, an employer in a restrictive state could potentially enforce an …

Court-Connected Alternative Dispute Resolution In Maine, Howard H. Dana Jr.

Maine Law Review

With these words of prophecy the Commission to Study the Future of Maine's Courts launched its discussion of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Although conceding that “the adversary process ... has served the people of the state well” and acknowledging that “the state must continue to provide a forum for forceful advocacy that produces a definite and binding judicial decision” the Commission asked the Maine judicial and legislative branches to embrace ADR. For the last dozen years, the Author has been the Supreme Judicial Court's (SJC's) liaison to its ADR Planning and Implementation Committee and Chair of the Court's Advisory Committee …

Luck V. Justice: Consent Intervenes, But For Whom?, Jennifer W. Reynolds

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Consent in civil settlements should improve access to and delivery of justice by making luck (chance, contingencies, arbitrariness) less significant in process and outcomes. Consent-based processes and private settlement are supposed to support justice by redistributing decision-making power away from judicial-coercive authorities to the people most affected by the dispute. But consent today has become little more than a pro forma process lever for bypassing regulation, litigation, and other more formal structures. No longer does consent serve as a reliable bulwark against luck distortions and arbitrariness in legal systems. Opening shrink-wrap (consent to arbitrate!), being shunted into compulsory mediation (consent …

The Arbitration Of Federal Domestic Antitrust Claims: How Safe Is The American Safety Doctrine?, Bruce R. Braun

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

California's Opportunity To Create Historical Precedent Regarding A Mediated Settlement Agreement's Effect On Mediation Confidentiality And Arbitrability , Susan Nauss Exon

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Confidentiality serves as a cornerstone of mediation. The public policy underlying confidentiality is the promotion of candid communications between disputing parties. As explained in this article, mediation confidentiality affects more than just communication. It affects other important mediation values, such as party self-determination and mediator impartiality. Mediation confidentiality affects parties' ability to enforce their mediated agreements. Finally, confidentiality affects multiple dispute resolution processes, as seen by the interrelated nature of mediation and arbitration in the seminal case of Fair v. Bakhtiari.

Looking Into A Crystal Ball: Courts' Inevitable Refusal To Enforce Parties' Contracts To Expand Judicial Review Of Non-Domestic Arbitral Awards, Eric Chafetz

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article will first discuss the legislative history of the NY Convention in general and the history of its vacatur provisions in particular. Second, it will summarize certain federal court decisions that address the Expansion Issues and reach the Consensus. Third, it will argue that the Expansion Issues were resolved incorrectly, because the courts addressing them do not recognize how the operative/material language in section 207 of Ch. 2 of the FAA and section 9 of Ch. 129 of the FAA has a virtually identical meaning, and therefore should have been construed and applied in the same manner. Fourth, this …

Arbitral And Judicial Proceedings: Indistinguishable Justice Or Justice Denied?, Pat K. Chew

Articles

This is an exploratory study comparing the processes and outcomes in the arbitration and the litigation of workplace racial harassment cases. Drawing from an emerging large database of arbitral opinions, this article indicates that arbitration outcomes yield a lower percentage of employee successes than in litigation of these types of cases. At the same time, while arbitration proceedings have some of the same legal formalities (legal representation, legal briefs), they do not have other protective procedural safeguards.

A Pragmatic Look At Mediation And Collaborative Law As Alternatives To Family Law Litigation Comment., Elizabeth F. Beyer

St. Mary's Law Journal

Since close to half the country’s marriages end in divorce, marriage dissolution is quite a lucrative business for attorneys. Also, fewer people are entering marriage in the first place. Fewer marriages combined with more children born out of wedlock create multitudinous legal problems and family disputes centering around those children. In addition to initial divorce filings and suits affecting the parent-child relationship, dissolution of marriage cases often creates additional litigation down the road. As a solution to the problems caused by the expense and toil of this litigation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) offers several options for family disputants. Two popular …

Unlicensed To Drill: Proposed Renovations To The Texas Residential Construction Commission Act., Justin M. Jackson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Construction is the largest industry in the United States, and some regard the industry as the engine of the nation’s economy. Only the unavailability of unskilled labor can slow the growth of the construction industry in Texas. As such, Texas has welcomed the construction boom and has enacted statutes to accommodate further industry growth. Texas’ first legislative response came in the form of the Residential Construction Liability Act (RCLA). The RCLA alleviated liability for builders incurred under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). In 2003, the Texas Legislature continued to legislate in favor of builders by passing the Texas Residential …

Procedural Justice, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article begins in part I, Introduction, with two observations. First, the function of procedure is to particularize general substantive norms so that they can guide action. Second, the hard problem of procedural justice corresponds to the following question: How can we regard ourselves as obligated by legitimate authority to comply with a judgment that we believe (or even know) to be in error with respect to the substantive merits?

The theory of procedural justice is developed in several stages, beginning with some preliminary questions and problems. The first question--what is procedure?--is the most difficult and requires an extensive …

Proof Of Attorney's Fees In Texas., Scott A. Brister

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Texas, the complex and confusing rules defining proof of attorney’s fees require simplification. Texas, like many other states, follows the American Rule, meaning the plaintiff and defendant each pay their own attorney’s fees. The United States is the only common-law jurisdiction and virtually the only industrialized democracy following the American Rule. Two primary justifications support following the American Rule. First, the American Rule supports individuals seeking a judicial remedy by removing the obstacle of paying an opponent’s legal fees. Second, it reduces potential litigation, attendant time and expense that would be necessary to dispute legal fees if they were …