Law Commons^™

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2014 Report & Evaluation, Susan Jeghelian, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Kaila O. Eisenkraft

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Community Mediation Center Grant Program, funded by the commonwealth and administered by the state’s office of dispute resolution, was established to “promote the broad use of community mediation in all regions of the state” by awarding operating grants to eligible community mediation centers. This annual report describes the progress made in broadening access to community mediation by the grant program under the challenge of reduced state funding in FY 2014. Due to the funding cut, fewer centers were funded in FY 2014 compared to FY 2013, which reduced the quantity of services provided. However, the amount of money per …

Client Science: Bad News And The Fully Informed Adr Client, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Professor Aaron comments that this piece, excerpted from: “Bad News and the Fully Informed Client,” the first chapter of her book, Client Science, addresses the lawyer’s challenge when counseling clients where “bad” news— negative, pessimistic or unwelcome developments or analysis—must be conveyed, whether or not within an ADR process. “As a mediator of civil cases, I suspect that mediation involves a higher than average percentage of cases involving ill-counseled clients or ‘difficult clients’ who may fairly be characterized as ‘counseling-resistant’ despite the best efforts of skilled lawyers. When the lawyer explains ‘bad news’ about case developments or likely outcomes, he …

Mlb Calendar 2014-2015, Edmund P. Edmonds

MLB Calendars

No abstract provided.

International Investment Agreements: Are Their Policy Aims Served By Their Broad Definitions Of Covered “Investors” And “Investments”?, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

With negotiation of “mega-treaties” such as the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and investment treaties between the EU and other large economies such as Canada and the United States, international investment agreements (IIAs) are gaining fame and raising a host of important policy questions. Among those questions are who/what the treaties benefit and at what cost.

Investment Arbitration Under The Spotlight - What Next For Asia, Fali Nariman

2010 Herbert Smith Freehills-SMU Arbitration Lecture Series

This lecture will provide an analysis of recent developments in investment arbitration in Asia with a particular focus on the role played by bilateral and multilateral agreements in the region. A number of countries, particularly in South-East Asia and South Asia have engaged in investment arbitration in the last couple of years. Indonesia has reportedly signaled its intention to terminate its bilateral investment treaties, following the example of several Latin American countries in recent years. Will India also act on its stated intention to whittle down arbitration protections afforded to investors under Bilateral Investment Treaties? Will other states in the …

The Presumption Of Resulting Trust: A New Era?, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This entry is written in anticipation of the forthcoming appeal against the recent High Court judgment in Mak Saw Ching v Yam Hui Min, Barbara Rebecca [2014] SGHC 212. The appeal shall provide a further opportunity for the Court of Appeal to clarify and refine the law on the presumption of resulting trust after the important decision of Chan Yuen Lan v See Fong Mun [2014] 3 SLR 1048 released earlier this year. However, the High Court judgment is not to be missed as well. The decision highlights interesting issues for the appellate bench’s consideration, and could be the forerunner …

Nudging Users Towards Cross-Border Mediation: Is It Really About Harmonised Enforcement Regulation?, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In this paper the author challenges her audience to think in different ways about creating the shift needed to make cross-border mediation practice a reality rather than rhetoric. Within Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore and other centres are positioning themselves as regional leaders in cross-border mediation. Statistically though, there is not an enormous amount of cross-border mediation going on. Despite the apparent advantages of mediation and the international regulatory activity outlined above, cross-border commercial mediation practice has been slow to develop. At dispute resolution conferences and other get-togethers, mediators and other ADR advocates ask themselves, “Why”? While there is little empirical …

Empirical Study On International Commercial Mediation And Conciliation, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In this post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the preliminary results from the empirical study on international commercial mediation and conciliation are presented.

What Is Negotiation?, Part 2, John M. Lande

Faculty Blogs

To get a good understanding of final settlement events, it usually helps to also understand the interactions leading up them.

“Labels Suck”, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

Using Andrea Schneider’s pithy observation as a jumping off point, I noted confusion about the traditional terminology about lawyer- and client-centered counseling, positional interest-based negotiation, and evaluative and facilitative mediation. Many of us are pretty sloppy in our use of these terms. For example, people often think of client-centered counseling, interest-based negotiation, and facilitative mediation basically as being nice and the opposite approaches as being tough (if not naughty). So in my classes, I briefly defined the terms so that students recognize them and I described the problems with them. Then I warned them not to use the terms and …

What Is Negotiation?, Part 1, John M. Lande

Faculty Blogs

Conventional conceptions of negotiation often involve various elements that do not necessarily occur in the process of reaching agreement.

Book Review: “The Good Lawyer: Seeking Quality In The Practice Of Law”, Linda H. Edwards

Scholarly Works

In their first collaboration, The Happy Lawyer, the writing team of Nancy Levit and Doug Linder tackled a crucially important subject: how to have a happy life in the law. As part of that project, they interviewed more than two hundred lawyers about what makes them happy in their jobs. Levit and Linder noticed that happy lawyers nearly always talked about doing good work. Curious about the connection, the authors turned to recent research in neuroscience and learned, not to their surprise, that a key to a happy life is, indeed, the sense of doing good work. It is …

Climate Change Survey Measures: Exploring Perceived Bias And Question Interpretation, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Tonya K. Bernadt, Nicole Wall

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Climate change has become an important yet politically divisive topic in recent years. Further complicating the issue are assertions that climate change– related public opinion surveys used by social scientists are biased or otherwise problematic. We conducted a pilot study to explore questions concerning bias and interpretation of climate change surveys. Our study sample was composed of adult residents of Nebraska (n = 115). We augmented our survey findings with cognitive interviews of a subsample of respondents (n = 20). We assessed study participants’ attitudes about climate change, and perceptions of bias and interpretation of survey questions drawn from previously …

Good Pretrial Lawyering: Planning To Get To Yes Sooner, Cheaper, And Better, John M. Lande

Faculty Publications

Although the ostensible purpose for pretrial litigation is to prepare for trial, such preparation is inextricably intertwined with negotiation because the expected trial outcome is a major factor affecting negotiation. Indeed, since most litigated cases are settled, good litigators prepare for negotiation at least as much as trial. The lawyers interviewed for this article, who were selected because of their good reputations, described how they prepare for both possibilities. They recommend taking charge of their cases from the outset, which includes getting a clear understanding of clients and their interests, developing good relationships with counterpart lawyers, carefully investigating the cases, …

C-Drum News, Fall 2014

The C-DRUM News

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Arbitrator Background And Representation On Arbitration Outcomes, Adam C. Pritchard, Stephen J. Choi, Jill E. Fisch

Articles

We study the role of arbitrator background in securities arbitration. We find that several aspects of arbitrator background are correlated with arbitration outcomes. Specifically, industry experience, prior experience as a regulator, and status as a professional or retired arbitrator are correlated with statistically significant differences in arbitration awards. The impact of these characteristics is affected by whether the arbitrator in question serves as the panel chair and by whether the parties to the arbitration are represented by counsel. Our findings offer some preliminary insights into the debate over possible arbitrator bias. On the one hand, they suggest that the party …

Public-Private Partnership: The Chinese Dilemma, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

As noted by Greg Shaffer in his book ‘Defending Interests: Public-Private Partnerships in WTO Litigation’, the US and EU have different approaches to public-private partnership in dealing with foreign trade barriers: the former tends to be more ‘bottom-up’, while the latter tends to be ‘top-down’. Inspired by Shaffer’s work, this article examines China’s experience in establishing public-private partnership. Initially, China appeared to prefer the American approach by adopting the Rules on Trade Barrier Investigation (TBI), which empowers domestic firms to petition the government directly to launch investigation against foreign trade barriers. However, since 2005, China seems to have shifted to …

Settlement – A Mediator’S Prayer, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the first published poetic piece on mediation ‘A Mediator’s Prayer’ by Hong Hong mediator, lawyer and poet, TK Iu, is applauded.

Simc And Sicc: New Developments In Singapore For The Resolution Of International Commercial Disputes, Eunice Chua

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

The Predictability Paradox: Arbitrators And Applicable Law, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

In resolution of international contract disputes, arbitrators may sometimes show greater fidelity than courts to the parties’ intentions and established rule of a chosen law, foregoing any policy-making function similar to that sometimes asserted by common law judges. In adjusting international contracts, arbitrators face special tensions in their search for counterpoise between rival notions of predictability, often expressed in imprecise terms like “commercial reality” or “strict letter of the law” which like the humble chameleon take different colors depending on the backdrop.

Arbitration's Discontents: Between The Pernicious And The Precarious, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

Arbitration has become a victim of its own success, as its wider use has triggered a flood of doubt, disapproval and denunciation. In consequence, higher visibility for arbitral proceedings and awards has led to increased criticism, both just and unjust, with respect to arbitrator independence and impartiality. A robust dispute resolution process requires balance between fairness and efficiency, keeping arbitrators free from taint while at the same time reducing the prospect of dilatory tactics aimed at sabotaging proceedings. If litigants hope to have their disputes resolved by intelligent and experienced individuals, criteria for arbitrator impartiality and independence will need to …

The Cohasset Marshlands Dispute: International Arbitration In Colonial New England, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

One of the earliest international arbitrations in the Americas arose from rival claims to hayfields contested between two groups of religious dissidents. The dispute resolution process which unfolded in 1640 between the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies takes special significance as an epochal step toward the robust cross-border cooperation that ultimately united thirteen disparate colonies into a single nation.

A Fair Fight: Professional Guidelines In International Arbitration, William W. Park

Faculty Scholarship

Depending on context and content, a regulatory framework can either help or hinder efforts to enhance aggregate social and economic welfare. Lively debate has arisen with respect to the net effects of two recent sets of directives for lawyer comportment in cross-border arbitration: the guidelines adopted by the International Bar Association and the new arbitration rules promulgated by the London Court of International Arbitration. Each instrument aims to promote a more level playing field on matters where legal cultures differ, such as document production and counsel independence. Each has caused thoughtful commentators to question the need and the merits of …

Do We Need Laws To Help Us Say Sorry?, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In this post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the role of an 'apology legislation' is illustrated.

A Framework For Advancing Negotiation Theory: Implications From A Study Of How Lawyers Reach Agreement In Pretrial Litigation, John M. Lande

Faculty Publications

The prevailing negotiation theory tries to fit lots of square pegs into just two round holes–adversarial or cooperative bargaining. In the real world, negotiation comes in many different shapes, not just circles and squares. Analyzing law school textbook definitions of the traditional models, this article demonstrates that the two “round holes” in current negotiation theory are poorly defined. It also presents empirical accounts of actual pretrial negotiations to demonstrate that the theoretical models do not fit some real-life negotiations. It argues that it is time to replace the traditional models with a flexible framework that can accommodate virtually all legal …

Enforcement Of Foreign Arbitration Agreements And Awards: Application Of The New York Convention In The United States, Louis Del Duca, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

Internationalc ommercial arbitrationp rovides customized and efficient resolution for disputes arising out of transnational commerce. When arbitration occurs in states that have ratified the New York Convention, the process also offers enforceable outcomes even in states other than the one where the arbitration occurred. The United States ratified the New York Convention in 1970, and its courts overwhelmingly enforce both arbitration agreements and arbitral awards. There are exceptions, however, and American courts require the use of certain procedures.

This Article provides a brief survey of American courts' recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration agreements and arbitral awards. It begins by …

Simc And Sicc: New Developments In Singapore For The Resolution Of International Commercial Disputes, Eunice Chua

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Using The Theories Of Exit, Voice, Loyalty, And Procedural Justice To Reconceptualize Brazil's Rejection Of Bilateral Investment Treaties, Nancy A. Welsh, Andrea Kupfer Schneider, Kathryn Rimpfel

Faculty Scholarship

In the past decade, investor-state arbitration has made tremendous gains in both credibility and use. There is now widespread accession to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (“ICSID Convention” or “Washington Convention”). States have executed more than 2,000 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) defining the terms and conditions under which one (“investor”) state’s nationals and companies will invest in the other (“host”) state. Such terms include provisions allowing foreign investors to initiate arbitration proceedings against the host state, and at this point, more than 500 disputes have been submitted to investor-state arbitration. …

The Mauritius Convention On Transparency: Comments On The Rreaty And Its Role In Increasing Transparency Of Investor-State Arbitration, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In July 2014, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted the Mauritius Convention on Transparency that, if widely adopted, will do much to increase the transparency of investor-state arbitrations conducted under thousands of existing investment treaties and under any set of arbitration rules. This Policy Paper introduces the background and objectives of the Transparency Convention, provides commentary on each of its specific articles, and explains how the Transparency Convention can accomplish broad reform.

New Uncitral Arbitration Rules On Transparency: Application, Content And Next Steps, Lise Johnson, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In July 2013, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted a package of rules aiming to ensure transparency in investor-State arbitration (the “Rules on Transparency”), ratifying the work done by delegations to UNCITRAL – comprised of 55 Member States, additional observer States and observer organizations – over the course of nearly three years of negotiations.

Under previous versions of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, disputes between investors and States were often not made public, even where important public policies were involved or illegal or corrupt business practices were uncovered. In contrast, the new rules, which will officially come …