Law Commons^™

Developments In The Laws Affecting Electronic Payments And Financial Services, Sarah Jane Hughes, Stephen T. Middlebrook, Tom Kierner

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The past year proved to be a busy period for the regulation of electronic payments and financial services. In this year’s survey, we discuss rulemakings, enforcement actions, and other litigation that has significantly impacted the law governing payments and financial services. Part II addresses the ongoing fight between federal and state authorities over which should properly regulate Fin- Tech entities and describes some new steps the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) has taken to assert its authority in this area. Part III details an enforcement action that California regulators took against a FinTech company they determined had …

Analyzing Analytics: Litigation Analytics In Bloomberg Law, Westlaw Edge, And Lexis Advance, Ashley A. Ahlbrand

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The False Allure Of Settlement Pressure, Nicholas Almendares

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The threat of “blackmail” or “in terrorem” settlements have shaped the law, leading courts to conclude that if the plaintiff does not appear likely to win the case, then the litigation should be halted at an early stage. This Article questions the established logic of settlement pressure. After clarifying the concept and presenting the strongest case for it, I show that it cannot serve as the basis for wide-ranging civil procedure doctrines. Doing so has perverse results, such as privileging the defendant’s idiosyncratic tastes and helping corporate managers hide important facts from their shareholders. In addition, settlement pressure is not …

Representing The Media At Trial, Joseph A. Tomain, Richard M. Goehler, Amanda G. Main

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Do Attorneys Do Their Clients Justice? An Empirical Study Of Lawyers' Effects On Tax Court Litigation Outcomes, Leandra Lederman, Warren B. Hrung

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Do attorneys really add value or can unrepresented parties achieve equivalent results? This fundamental question ordinarily is difficult to answer empirically. An equally important question both for attorneys and the justice system is whether attorneys prolong disputes or instead facilitate expeditious resolution of cases.

Fortunately, there is a federal court that provides an excellent laboratory in which to test and answer these questions. In the United States Tax Court (Tax Court), where most federal tax cases are litigated, the government always is represented by Internal Revenue Service attorneys but a large portion of the taxpayer litigants proceed pro se. In …

Lashing Reason To The Mast: Understanding Judicial Constraints On Emotion In Personal Injury Litigation, Jody L. Madeira

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Arguing from the premise that personal injury plaintiffs and injury evidence do not taint proceedings by encouraging jurors to adjudicate based on emotion rather than evidence, this article reviews and challenges judicial attempts to constrain jurors' emotive responses to an injured plaintiff in three areas of personal injury litigation: voir dire, admissibility of evidence, and restrictions on damages arguments and assessment. The judicial abhorrence of sympathy as a ground for substantive decision making during some phases of the trial clashes with judicial tolerance of the emotion during others, giving rise to a pattern of sympathy in, sympathy out where the …

The Ethics Of Evidence, J. Alexander Tanford

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Professor J. Alexander Tanford offers a unique perspective on the ethics of evidence, illustrated by examples of his own personal experiences as well as excerpts from film and literature. This Article is a must read for any litigator as it addresses the issue of where the line is to be drawn regarding evidence in the courtroom.

So Help Me God: A Comparative Study Of Religious Interest Group Litigation, Jayanth K. Krishnan, Kevin R. Den Dulk

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Which Cases Go To Trial?: An Empirical Study Of Predictors Of Failure To Settle, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Precedent Lost: Why Encourage Settlement, And Why Permit Non-Party Involvement In Settlements?, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Power And Legal Artifice: The Federal Class Action, Bryant Garth

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Using case studies and interviews with lawyers and representatives in class actions, this article explores the contribution that class actions make to their ostensible beneficiaries. The article first distinguishes the major types of class actions in terms of the roles of lawyers and class representatives, ranging from very passive representatives to individuals intensively involved with the dispute that gave rise to the litigation. The article next seeks to evaluate the class actions. On the basis of the results of the class actions, the article finds that class actions cannot be proclaimed major contributors to social change. The focus on results, …

Book Review. This Week On The Talk Shows: The Litigation Explosion, J. Alexander Tanford

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Viva Zapata!: Toward A Rational System Of Forum-Selection Clause Enforcement In Diversity Cases, Leandra Lederman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Case In Support Of Legislation Facilitating The Consolidation Of Mass-Accident Litigation: A View From The Legislature, Charles G. Geyh, Robert W. Kastenmeier

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Contingent Fee Contract In Massachusetts, Kenneth B. Hughes

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Legislative Loss Distribution In Negligence Actions By C. O. Gregory, Fowler V. Harper

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.