Law Commons^™

The Limits Of Disclosure: Artificial Intelligence, Arbitration, And The Illusion Of Informed Consent, Rishi Batra

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Consider the following scenario: A warehouse worker brings a wage and hour claim against her employer under her state's labor code. Her employment contract, which she signed on her first day of work, contains a mandatory arbitration clause that she did not negotiate, did not fully read, and — like most employees in her situation — did not fully understand. An arbitrator is appointed, a hearing is held, and an award is issued in the employer's favor several weeks later, denying the employee's claims entirely. The award is well-organized and internally consistent, addressing each of the worker's claims with what …

A Decade Of Change: Technology’S Impact On Negotiation Deepens In The Age Of Ai, Noam Ebner

Journal of Dispute Resolution

When people consider the notion of negotiation changing, they tend to look first toward that magnificent negotiation construct, “the table.” Here are some immediately apparent areas of table-novelty: • There is often a screen on our table, rather than another person sitting across from us. • The table we “go” to negotiate at is not in our office or that of our counterpart; rather, it is a communications system such as email or an online platform developed by a third-party provider. • The table, in its online-platform form, sometimes structures process and facilitates communication in ways that our trusty old …

Artificial Intelligence, Real Humans, And The Art Of Lawyering: Reflections From Practice, Jenna Homeyer

Journal of Dispute Resolution

René Descartes famously stated, “I think, therefore I am.” As artificial intelligence (“AI”) increases in prevalence throughout society and the field of law, we might ask ourselves, who are we if we allow AI to think for us? This symposium began with a question about the interplay between artificial intelligence and the human skills present in the art of lawyering. After using AI in my legal practice for the past two and half years, I can attest that there remains a very human skill set that is necessary to the art of good or effective lawyering. AI can be a …

Rps Mediator Coachbuilder, John Lande

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Instructions for AI Tool

Using Ai Centaur Systems To Strengthen Professional Judgment, John Lande

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This article encourages dispute resolution practitioners to use artificial intelligence (AI) “centaur” systems, which may perform better than either humans or AI tools operating independently. Centaur systems combine human and AI capabilities so that each contributes complementary strengths in decision-making. This is particularly important in managing legal disputes, where practitioners should integrate analysis of legal issues, tangible and intangible costs, strategic judgment, and ethical considerations.

The Life And Work Of Odr Visionary And Architect Colin Rule (So Far), John Lande

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Many people know Colin Rule as a pioneer of online dispute resolution. Fewer people probably appreciate the full breadth of his contributions over the last three decades. This article reviews Rule’s work as a builder of dispute resolution systems, writer, educator, entrepreneur, and institutional leader. It highlights recurring themes in his career and scholarship, including trust, fairness, usability, access to justice, and the need to keep human judgment at the center of technological innovation.

Cooling Conflict: Embedding Mediation Protocols In Data Center Land Sale Contracts, Allison Elias

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Imagine a two-thousand-acre plot of land in rural Louisiana being leveled to accommodate a 10 billion dollar data center. With the construction of this data center comes the destruction of a region inhabited by rich plant and animal life as well as 80,000 residents, a quarter of whom live below the poverty line. Alternatively, think of a $750 million data center being built next door to your home, causing sediment build-up in your water supply, water scarcity, light pollution, and destruction of neighboring forests. Unfortunately, one does not have to imagine these scenarios. Both stories come directly from recent news …

Reports Of Legal Writing’S Death Are Greatly Exaggerated: Why Generative Ai Will Not Kill The Craft, Jayne T. Woods

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In preparing for this essay, I typed the phrase “legal writing is” into Google to see how common searches finished the thought. The only completed thought to appear was “legal writing is hard.” Amen. Legal writing is an amalgamation of logical reasoning, cognitive psychology, classical rhetoric, legal terminology, legal citation, and proper grammar and style, all of which must result in a product accessible to readers of all education levels. When generative AI arrived, producing cogent, plausible legal prose in seconds, it led many to believe that writing, generally, and legal writing, specifically, had reached the end of days.

Mirror, Mirror On My Screen, Can You Feel Like A Human Being?, Lauren A. Newell

Journal of Dispute Resolution

We cannot go anywhere without encountering artificial intelligence (AI) these days. AI has infiltrated our phones, our cars, and our washing machines. It is with us in doctors’ offices, at the drive-through, and at sporting events. It has taken over our calendars and our inboxes and our videoconferences, and it would like to help us brush our teeth, too.

Justice After Atrocity: Lessons From Rwanda And Cambodia For Contemporary International Law And Conflict, Jennie Hubbard

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In the aftermath of mass atrocity, the question facing survivors and policymakers is not whether societies will rebuild but how rebuilding will address truth, justice, and memory. Modern transitional justice systems trace institutional and normative roots to the post—World War II order, most famously embodied by the Nuremberg Trials, which first established that individuals could be held accountable for crimes against humanity. Nuremberg did more than punish Nazi officials; it articulated a legal and moral principle that the international community could, and sometimes must, assert jurisdiction to address mass crimes when domestic systems fail. Despite that precedent, global reactions to …

Beyond City Limits: Access To Adr And Child Client-Directed Counsel In Missouri’S Rural Family Courts, Reghan Matlock

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Reba McEntire once sang, “Don’t trust your soul to no backwoods southern lawyer”—a warning that still echoes in today’s debates about rural justice and representation. The catchy murder ballad captures a story driven by dramatic family ties and a broken justice system. While the song exaggerates for effect, it taps into a realistic concern: an existing divide in access to justice between rural and urban communities. This divide impacts all areas of law, including family law—where concerns about confidentiality and privacy are heightened because small communities make it difficult to shield sensitive matters from public view. The divide is troubling, …

Reforming Mediation: The Hidden Inequities Shaped By Race, Gender, And Power, Victoria Seever

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Courts and policymakers often promote family dispute resolution as a faster, less adversarial alternative to traditional litigation. Yet for many women of color, the mediation table often replicates the same racial and gender power imbalances that the legal system claims to mitigate. Family Dispute Resolution (“FDR”) often fails women of color by reinforcing racialized and gendered power imbalances. Alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”), especially mediation, presents both an opportunity and a risk in divorce, custody, and intimate partner violence (“IPV”) cases. IPV cases become especially difficult with the various laws in different states that govern how mediation should be used and …

July 2026 From The Editor — 40 Years Of Success And Value To You, Romesh Nalliah

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

• Editor-in-Chief Romesh Nalliah uses the historical example of King Hammurabi's loan agreements to illustrate the foundational concept of risk management and insurance. He celebrates the 40th anniversary of the MDA Insurance & Financial Group, highlighting its growth into a full-service agency that addresses the specific needs of dentists. Nalliah emphasizes the "multiplicative effect" of supporting these member-governed services: they offer individual cost savings and generate non-dues revenue that funds broader MDA benefits and reduces dues. He credits the association's volunteer leadership for establishing this successful model of value-driven professional support.

July 2026 Mda At Your Service — Who Can Supervise Dental Assistant Radiography Training In Michigan?, Mda Membership Department Staff

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This Q&A feature provides practical guidance on common professional and licensing questions for Michigan dentists. It clarifies that any licensed dentist can supervise required dental assistant radiography training, highlighting the MDA's online program. The article also offers advice for new dentists looking to connect with colleagues through local societies and the "New Doc Connection" online hub. Additionally, it outlines the mandatory steps for updating a professional license after a legal name change and directs members to valuable MDA resources for navigating dental insurance contracts and third-party payer agreements.

July 2026 Dentistry And The Law — Can Unlicensed People Own A Dental Practice? Who Is Enforcing The Law?, Daniel Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This legal column addresses the complexities of dental practice ownership in Michigan, clarifying that only licensed dentists can legally own a practice through professional corporations or professional limited liability companies. It explains the "Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine," which aims to ensure licensed professionals, rather than profit-motivated lay persons, control health service delivery. The article details how management companies often operate legally as landlords or service providers without technically owning the practice itself. Finally, it notes that only the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and the attorney general have the authority to enforce these regulations.

An Analysis Of Gender-Inclusive Dimensions In Climate Change Policy Frameworks In Zambia, Mwelwa Kunda

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

Effective climate policy must recognise how men and women differently contribute to, and benefit from, resilience efforts, as this strengthens gender equity and the sustainability of adaptation measures. This study examines the extent to which Zambia’s climate change policy framework integrates gender considerations and translates them into actionable commitments. Using the Vulnerability-to-Resilience framework, it conducts qualitative content analysis of 14 national policies, plans, and strategies spanning climate change, gender, energy, agriculture, forestry, water, and disaster management. A structured coding framework assesses gender inclusion, implementation and enforcement mechanisms, recognition of gendered climate impacts, and identified challenges and opportunities. Code frequencies and …

A Review Of Innovations Towards Access To Justice In Zambia, Tinenenji Banda, Maria Kasoma, Kennedy Kasozi, Ssendikaddiwa Emmanuel, Ruth Kigozi

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

Access to justice remains a challenge in Zambia with generally low awareness on the law, the available legal remedies or protections, and where to seek assistance when confronted with a legal issue. The geographic spread of courts and other auxiliary justice infrastructure is limited with the highest Courts (the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and Court of Appeal) sitting mainly in Lusaka, with occasional presence in other urban centres. The situation is aggravated by inadequate legal aid provision with many districts in Zambia lacking a legal aid office. To reverse this situation, Zambia has embarked on various innovations, designed and deployed …

Interim Measures In International Commercial Arbitration: Revisiting Enforceability, Sophia Kubo

Michigan Journal of International Law

Interim measures may offer a solution to obstructive tactics in international commercial disputes. While arbitral tribunals’ authority to grant provisional relief is now widely recognized, enforcement remains legally uncertain and fragmented, undermining the promise of this solution. Acknowledging that proposals for a supranational treaty on enforcement of interim measures or an amendment to existing treaties are unrealistic, this article offers a critical analysis of existing enforcement models– court assistance, exequatur, and mixed approaches–and evaluates them through the lens of legal certainty and efficiency. The article argues that the exequatur model, supported by a dynamic interpretation of the New York Convention, …

Insurgent Until Proven Innocent: Land, Power, And The Right To Defend Rights, Kelsey Jost-Creegan

Michigan Journal of International Law

As the climate crisis intensifies, advocates worldwide have stood up to defend their communities, territories, and environment. In response, they have faced violent retaliation. This repression persists despite evolving international, regional, and national-level legal frameworks around the “right to defend rights” and the “right to protection.” This article begins by providing a comprehensive overview of this evolving legal landscape. Against this backdrop, the article examines the tactics and architectures of violence used to repress land and environmental defenders through the lens of counterinsurgency theory.

The article proposes a typology of counterinsurgent violence including: surveillance; stigmatization; criminalization; arbitrary detention; infiltration; cooptation; …

A Language Model’S Capability To Make Reasoned Decisions In Administrative Law, Robert Diab

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper calls into question a common set of assumptions about the use of artificial intelligence in administrative law in Canada. While some assume that AI (AI) may be useful for assisting a decision-maker where core rights are affected, the prevailing view is that it cannot be relied upon to make final decisions, due mainly to functional limitations: AI cannot give reasons and its outcomes are fraught with bias and opacity that cannot be overcome. The prevailing view, however, took shape in response to earlier, more limited forms of AI. Large language models can be used in a way that …

Privacy, Paternalism, And Standing In Health Professions Regulation, Anthony Sangiuliano

Dalhousie Law Journal

When investigating whether a doctor has behaved unethically while treating a patient, professional regulatory colleges may search patients’ confidential medical records without patients’ consent. I argue that this practice is not paternalistic, nor does it usurp patients’ standing to decide for themselves whether to sacrifice their privacy to hold the doctor to account for professional wrongdoing. College investigations that non-consensually invade patient privacy do not express disrespect for patients’ agency because they aim to mitigate harm to the broader public. Unlike criminal prosecutions of doctors which uphold moral values pervading the public at large, college investigations enforce ethical standards within …

A Qualitative Study Of Key “Regulatory” Factors Influencing Patient Access To Medical Assistance In Dying In Canada, Ruthie Jeanneret, Eliana Close, Jocelyn Downie, Ben P. White

Dalhousie Law Journal

Medical assistance in dying (“MAiD”) was legalized federally in Canada after the landmark case, Carter v Canada (AG), 2015 SCC 5. Bill C-14 introduced a federal legislative framework for MAiD in 2016, which was amended by Bill C-7 in 2021. Some Bill C-7 amendments directly responded to the decision in Truchon c Canada (PG), 2019 QCCS 3792. Other amendments responded to several factors identified as barriers to patient access, including the requirement for two independent witnesses, the 10-day reflection period, and the requirement to provide final consent at the time of administration of MAiD medication. However, emerging literature identifies that …

Aboriginal Title In Former French Colonies: Reaching Back Before The Assertion Of French Sovereignty, Ghislain Otis

Dalhousie Law Journal

A substantial part of Canada was colonized by France well before the British arrival in the mid-eighteenth century. This article examines the effect of the assertion of French sovereignty on the Aboriginal title regime recognized under British-Canadian law.

In Part I, the author identifies a trend in the jurisprudence whereby courts assess the Indigenous territorial situation existing at the time of the British assertion of sovereignty, rather than at the time of French sovereignty, for the purpose of applying the exclusive control criterion underlying the recognition of Aboriginal title. The author then demonstrates that this approach creates significant difficulties for …

Editorial Foreword Ijsls Volume 5 Number 2, Sulistyowati Irianto

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

-

The Law Of Health Equity, Govind Persad

Utah Law Review

Since 2025, health equity has faced increasing hostility from federal courts, agencies, and the executive branch. Yet health equity’s promise— to narrow stark health gaps along racial, economic, and other lines— remains urgent and widely endorsed by states, localities, and nongovernmental actors. Evaluating how health equity efforts might falter under or surmount these challenges requires understanding their legal underpinnings: the law of health equity.

This Article is the first in legal scholarship to comprehensively examine federal, state, and private sector health equity commitments. It reveals sustained societal recognition of health equity’s importance, while highlighting the need for more precise and …

Deporting Disability, Tania N. Valdez

Utah Law Review

Since the enactment of the earliest migration laws in the United States, people with disabilities have been targeted for exclusion and expulsion based on stereotypes that they are either dangerous or not productive. Although some of the pejorative language regarding disability in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) has changed over time, certain statutory provisions and the very structure of the INA still allow ableism to operate broadly in immigration adjudications. This Article focuses on the subtle, but pervasive, ways that immigration law disfavors noncitizens with disabilities. In particular, this Article examines ableism in the context of removal (commonly known …

Analyzing The Benefits Of Artificial Intelligence To Racially Inclusive Democracy, Spencer Overton

Utah Law Review

Over the past two decades—as the United States has grown more ethnically diverse—the U.S. Supreme Court has dismantled key voting rights protections, and state legislatures have erected a record number of voting restrictions. Largely oblivious to this growing gap in legal protections, several artificial intelligence (“AI”) optimists have claimed that AI can help usher in a more inclusive, participatory, and unbiased democracy. Such an outcome, however, is far from guaranteed. This Article is the first to comprehensively examine the extent to which AI—and the legal frameworks that regulate it—can advance racially inclusive democracy. It responds to the AI optimism literature …

Abortion (Re)Federalization, Gerald S. Dickinson

Utah Law Review

 This Article examines how the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision has opened an unconventional pathway for the development of a new form of “bottom-up constitutionalism” that could reshape federal abortion rights in the future. Traditionally, federal constitutional law has exerted a dominant influence over state laws and state court jurisprudence. The uniformity in abortion protections nationwide for decades was a product of the Roe v. Wade era of federal supremacy. However, Dobbs reversed this dynamic by dramatically curtailing federal constitutional authority over abortion, thereby leaving states as primary rights regulators. This Article focuses on the …

Puhca 2.0, Joshua C. Macey

Utah Law Review

Many electric utilities today are vertically integrated and own both rate regulated (transmission and distribution) and competitive (generation) affiliates. This structure gives them incentives to make investments that favor their affiliated generators and shift risk onto captive ratepayers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state public utility commissions have adopted a variety of rules to address these concerns, including limits on affiliate transactions and functional unbundling requirements. Unfortunately, these requirements have failed to prevent utilities from using their control over grid infrastructure to benefit affiliates that participate in competitive markets.

This Article therefore calls for a structural solution: a …

Learning From Lochner: When Children Are Harmed By Technological Revolutions, Brooke Hodson Davies

Utah Law Review

Drawing on parallels from child labor reform in the Second Industrial Revolution, this Note argues that stopping Big Tech’s harm to children in the Fourth Industrial Revolution requires Congressional legislation and judicial avoidance of Lochnerian approaches to the Constitution. Like its Big Business predecessors, today Big Tech maximizes profits by harming kids, necessitating government intervention of this market failure. Despite noble attempts, state-based efforts have been rendered relatively ineffective due to legislative non-uniformity, interstate competition, and enforcement limitations. Likewise, federal regulations currently in place fall short and even shield Big Tech from liability. Consequently, Congressional action is urgently needed. Critically, …