Law Commons^™

Small Print, Big Impact: Examining The Effects Of Forced Arbitration, Myriam E. Gilles

Testimony

Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Alternative Dispute Resolution In Montana: A Catalog Of The Local Rules In Montana District Courts, Brianna Anderson, Brock Flynn

Student Scholarship

A catalog of the Local ADR Rules for the Montana Judicial District Courts, including rules about settlement conferences, mediation, and informal domestic relations trials.

Real Practice Systems Annotated Bibliography, John Lande

Faculty Publications

Real Practice Systems (RPS) theory holds that practitioners’ practice systems are based on their personal histories, values, goals, motivations, knowledge, and skills as well as the parties and the cases in their work. RPS analysis can be used in many dispute resolution roles such as mediator, advocate in mediation, negotiator, and litigator generally. In mediation, practitioners develop categories of cases, parties, and behavior patterns that lead them to design routine procedures and strategies for dealing with recurring challenges before, during, and after mediation sessions.

RPS theory is the culmination of much of the work in my scholarly career. The bibliography …

Caroline E. Foster, Global Regulatory Standards In Environmental And Health Disputes: Regulatory Coherence, Due Regard, And Due Diligence, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

With ‘The Rise of the Regulatory State’ 1 at the beginning of the twentieth century, regulation replaced litigation as the main method of social control in the United States. Over the past few decades, more and more countries around the world started to follow the example of the United States, which led to the global expansion of the regulatory state. This in turn spurred more international disputes due to divergences in the respective regulatory standards. Theoretically speaking, global regulation might be the best solution. However, so far this not happened, partly due to the paralysis of the law-making functions of …

Law Students Can Use Portfolios To Plan Their Practice Systems, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post describes how law schools can help students plan for successful careers by using Real Practice System self-assessments to guide them in developing individualized portfolios. Portfolios identify students’ learning objectives and experiences designed to achieve them. Portfolios may include a variety of elements such as writing samples, video recordings, grades, faculty evaluations, clinical course journals, and extracurricular experiences.

Helping Law Students Define And Pursue Success, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post collects prior posts about how to help law students define and pursue professional success.

Increasing Housing Stability Through State-Funded Community Mediation Delivered By The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (Hmp) Fy2023 Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (HMP) is a comprehensive statewide program that provides free housing mediation services as a tool to increase housing stability with the intention of preventing homelessness created by landlord-tenant disputes. It is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and deploys the community mediation system infrastructure with 11 Community Mediation Centers (Centers) participating and serving all 14 counties of the Commonwealth to provide free conflict resolution services for tenants and landlords/property managers with housing disputes at any stage, from the earliest point a problem occurs, up to, and …

Real Lawyering Practice Systems, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

Most of the pieces in the RPS Project have focused on mediation. The theory is not limited to mediation, and this post applies it to lawyering.

Technology In Real Practice Systems, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post uses the RPS mediation checklists to illustrate practitioners’ great reliance on technology.

Belt And Road Initiative: Legal Mechanism To Recover Stolen Assets, Veltrice Tan

Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the types of legal mechanisms that authorities can use to recover stolen assets for and from China. Design/methodology/approach: Newspaper articles and books are examined as are relevant reports by various regulatory authorities and academic institutions. Findings: The effectiveness of legal mechanisms in the recovery of stolen assets may be affected by issues such as the difficulties in tracing illicit funds, the ambiguous nature of “value” as well as the rise in technology. Research limitations/implications: There are limited data available in relation to the prevalence of corrupt officials along the Belt and Road Initiative and …

The Belt And Road Initiative: Conflict Of Laws And Dispute Resolution, Veltrice Tan

Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the adaptability of China’s legal system in recognizing and enforcing foreign judgements in China. Design/methodology/approach: Academic articles, case law and books are examined as are relevant reports by various regulatory authorities and organizations. Findings: Historically, Chinese courts have strictly adhered to “de facto reciprocity”, which made it difficult for foreign judgements to be recognized and enforced in China. Fortunately, Chinese courts have since abandoned their rigid adherence to de facto reciprocity, and have instead, used flexible tests of reciprocity such as de jure reciprocity, reciprocal commitment and reciprocal understand/consensus. Accordingly, this would facilitate the …

Intimate Partner Violence And Family Dispute Resolution – Coercion, Capacity, And Control, Kelly Browe Olson

Faculty Scholarship

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most complex issues that family dispute resolution (FDR) professionals encounter. Over one-third of women and one-quarter of men in the United States have experienced physical violence, rape, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime (Black et al., 2011), and a majority of separation- and divorce-related cases involve IPV allegations (Ballard et al., 2011; Beck et al., 2010; Belzer, 2003). IPV often escalates, and is most dangerous, during and after separation and creates unique challenges for mediation and other collaborative processes (Beck & Raghaven, 2010; Kelly & Johnson, 2008). Therefore, all …

Conceptualising State-Centric Mediation: An Analysis Of China's Foreign Investment Complaints Mechanism, Mark Mclaughlin

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article argues that China's foreign investor complaints system constitutes 'state-centric investment mediation'. The Rules on Handling Complaints of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, which entered into force on 1 October 2020, place a state agency in the position of facilitating negotiations between a foreign investor and the agency being complained against. The prospects for this complaints system depend on how the state-as-mediator dynamic is perceived by foreign investors. To this end, it will be argued that settlement agreements reached pursuant to this system may be enforceable under the Singapore Convention on Mediation in certain circumstances. Investors and government entities operating similar systems …

North American Energy In The Crossfire, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez, James W. Coleman

Faculty Scholarship

North America is the beating heart of global energy markets un-dergoing a terrible energy crisis that threatens to upend both the economy and global security. The clearest path out of this global crisis is increasing energy supplies from North America, which can restore energy security and drive a transition to cleaner energy sources. The U.S., Mexico, and Canada have abundant and varied resources to surmount this challenge but are in dire need of stronger cooperation across borders, and between private and public actors to achieve this goal. This Article shows how energy law changes in the U.S. and Mexico present …

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program (Cmc-Gp) Fiscal Year 2023 Report And Evaluation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (MA) continued its investment in affordable, cost-effective community mediation by appropriating $2,713,465 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 for the Community Mediation Center Grant Program (CMC Grant Program or Program), the Program’s eleventh year. This appropriation funded the continued operations of qualified Community Mediation Centers (Centers) that deliver free or low-cost dispute resolution services to the public. The Centers serve as the backbone of mediation across the state and are the publicly funded infrastructure on which statewide dispute resolution programs are built.

The FY2023 state funding in the CMC Grant Program budget appropriation …

Hague Service Convention Enters Into Force In Singapore, Adeline Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore acceded to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (‘Service Convention’) on 16 May 2023. It has now entered into force in Singapore on 1 December 2023. Two declarations were lodged: first, against Article 8(1) objecting to the direct service of judicial documents upon persons in Singapore through foreign diplomatic or consular agents unless the documents are to be served upon a national of the State from which the documents originate; and secondly, objecting to service of judicial and extrajudicial documents in Singapore by the methods of transmission set …

The Return Of A Beloved Franchise: How Video Game Developers And Nil Licensing Brokers Can Use Mediation To Resolve Their Disputes, Nicholas Wynne

CJCR Blog

As of June 30, 2021, the NCAA no longer prohibited collegiate athletes from profiting from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This was good news for EA Sports, a sports video game developer, considering that it announced in February of that year that it planned to bring back its college football game. Prior to this news from the NCAA, EA Sports was planning on moving forward with the game without rosters that contained the names, images, or likenesses of any collegiate players, but remained hopeful that NIL rules would change in the future. Luckily for EA Sports, the NCAA rules …

Are Compelled Arbitration Clauses In Coaches’ Contracts With The Nfl Effective And Fair To All Parties?, Andreas Kouzouloglou

CJCR Blog

Employment agreements between football coaches and the NFL grants the NFL commissioner “the full, and complete, and final jurisdiction and authority to arbitrate” various forms of disputes between the two parties. There is one case that is currently being litigated challenging the legality of this arbitration provision. In Flores v. NFL, the plaintiffs attack the clause for being overbroad and unconscionable. Arbitration agreements can be an effective way to settle disputes as an alternative to litigation, but sometimes when there is unequal bargaining power resulting in one entity in complete control of the process, the negative consequences outweigh potential benefits. …

Ups And Teamster: Setting A New Bar For Negotiations And Conflict Resolution, Angel Zheng

CJCR Blog

On July 25th, 2023, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“Teamster”) reached a tentative agreement with United Parcel Service (“UPS”), affecting more than 340,000 UPS workers. A month later, on August 22nd, 86% of the union members voted in favor of ratifying the National Master Agreement. The negotiated agreement not only prevented one of the largest strikes in U.S. history, but also raised the bar for all workers in the labor movement. This entire conflict demonstrates the importance of negotiations and dispute resolution because negotiation was able to help avoid a major strike and negotiate a favorable contract.

This post was …

Randy Kiser’S New Book On Professional Judgment For Lawyers, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post describes Randall Kiser’s book, Professional Judgment for Lawyers. He defines professional judgment as “the deliberate synthesis of an attorney’s knowledge, experience, skills, discernment, and character to ethically advance a client’s interest.” The book combines empirical research, cognitive and social psychology, organizational behavior, legal ethics, and neuroscience to improve decision-making by attorneys, clients, judges, arbitrators, mediators, and juries.

Navigating The World Of Tiktok Influencers And Using Adr Methods To Negotiate Brand Deals And Contracts, Peri Ayzidor

CJCR Blog

Anyone using social media in the last three years has been exposed to or heard of TikTok. With over 1.4 billion monthly active users, the social media platform TikTok has taken the world by storm. It allows users to create videos lasting from 15 seconds to three minutes, covering thousands of categories, from makeup tutorials to tutoring explanations. The app has been a particular hit for influencers. An influencer is someone who has the power to impact the purchasing decisions of others because of a certain appeal or relationship with the audience. Many influencers have taken advantage of the app’s …

Emerging Stronger: How Uae’S Arbitration System Adapts To Post-Covid International Norms, Jacob Horowitz

CJCR Blog

On September 29th, 2023, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) published Federal Law No. 15 of 2023 (“Amendment Law”). This law effectively amended Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 On Arbitration (“Arbitration Law”) in a manner that demonstrated the country’s aim to further improve and modernize its arbitration system. Although the Amendment law consisted of numerous changes to UAE’s arbitration system, the most significant was its permittance of modern electronic technologies. In other words, the UAE now allows arbitration hearings to be conducted through technological platforms such as Zoom. This change reflects the post-COVID-19 pandemic trend of preference of virtual hearings …

Strength In Numbers: Negotiating To Mitigate Disputes Between Musicians And Digital Service Providers, Ryan Ashe

CJCR Blog

The music industry landscape was forever changed when it implemented the streaming model. While digital service providers (“DSP”) like Spotify or Apple Music essentially saved the industry from music piracy, the royalty distribution method of these companies has been a major disappointment for songwriters and musicians. Despite providing consistent revenue, most of the revenue earned by DSPs is not shared with musicians. For instance, Spotify retains 30% of every dollar it generates, paying the remaining 70% back to rightsholders as royalties, with 55% of revenue towards record labels and 15% to publishing companies. Despite songwriters and recording artists’ significant contributions …

Aureliano Buendia And President Gustavo Petro: The Impact Of A Dual-Sided Stakeholder And Leader On The Colombian Peace Accords, Samantha Sanchez

CJCR Blog

Colombia has endured a nearly 60-year-long internal conflict between paramilitary groups, and allegedly its own military, costing the lives of countless civilians and setting the country’s post-colonial development back decades. Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating a four-year-long deal with paramilitary groups that terrorized–mainly rural and indigent–neighborhoods for decades. However, many critics thought the award was premature, considering the nearly half a million deaths as a result and the impunity of human-rights offenders. Current struggles in the country prove that those critics may have been likely right.

This post was originally published …

Judge Capell’S Tiktok: A Model To Empower The Public To Be Their Own Conflict Negotiators, Marielle Burnett

CJCR Blog

What if social media platforms were leveraged to empower interested users to resolve their own conflicts without litigation? This is a question that Brooklyn Civil Court Judge Heela Capell is exploring through several online platforms, most notably TikTok.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on November 2, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Special Challenges In Execution Of Arbitral Awards In Public Private Partnerships, Srividhya Ragavan, Niraj Kumar Seth

Faculty Scholarship

With around 47 million pending cases at various stages of Indian judiciary and one of the lowest levels of judges per million of population in the world, India’s arbitration regime presents a ray of hope for millions of Indians who face the prospect of justice being denied to them due to inordinate delays caused by a clogged judicial pipeline. The enactment of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 was presented as a viable alternative to resolve commercial disputes in a timely manner. This paper uses a case study to discuss how arbitration in India has not fulfilled the timeliness promise …

How Can The Internal Revenue Service Improve Its Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs To Deliver Better Benefits?, Armando Gonzalez

CJCR Blog

Most individuals and businesses file their tax return(s) and forget about the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) until it’s time to repeat the process the following year. However, sometimes disputes may arise “when a taxpayer fails to agree with an IRS finding, refuses to file a tax return, or refuses to comply with an IRS request for information.” To address some of these disputes, the IRS offers six alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) programs through its Independent Office of Appeals, where mediation is leveraged to avoid costly litigation and lengthy appeals.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict …

The Human Rights Remedy Gap In Isds – The Potential Of The Hague Rules On Business And Human Rights Arbitration, Diane A. Desierto, Anne Van Aaken, Steven Ratner, Giorgia Sangiuolo, Martijn Scheltema, Katerina Yiannibas

Faculty Lectures and Presentations

The tensions between the protection of human rights and States’ obligations towards foreign investors has been the subject of extensive debates among States, civil society actors, business, and international organizations. The Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration represent a recent effort to provide an avenue for resolving claims concerning human rights violations connected to business activities, including investment. These Rules may be linked to or incorporated in national investment laws, state contracts, or International Investment Agreements (IIAs). The Hague Rules aim to fill a currently existing gap in (access to) remedies for rightsholders and help both investors and …

Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, And The Judicial Strike Zone - Home Run Or Foul On The Play?, Jan L. Jacobowitz

Articles

Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Micky Mantle, and Shoeless Joe Jackson—There are many well-known baseball legends, but perhaps less well-known is the story of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a judge turned baseball commissioner who inspired not only baseball fans, but also the American Bar Association’s first Judicial Canon of Ethics. The parallel stories of baseball’s greatest scandal, the judge appointed to be the first baseball commissioner, and the development of the judicial canons, provide context for the current controversial judicial prohibition--the appearance of impropriety.

Twenty Years After Krieger V Law Society Of Alberta: Law Society Discipline Of Crown Prosecutors And Government Lawyers, Andrew Flavelle Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Krieger v. Law Society of Alberta held that provincial and territorial law societies have disciplinary jurisdiction over Crown prosecutors for conduct outside of prosecutorial discretion. The reasoning in Krieger would also apply to government lawyers. The apparent consensus is that law societies rarely exercise that jurisdiction. But in those rare instances, what conduct do Canadian law societies discipline Crown prosecutors and government lawyers for? In this article, I canvass reported disciplinary decisions to demonstrate that, while law societies sometimes discipline Crown prosecutors for violations unique to those lawyers, they often do so for violations applicable to all lawyers — particularly …