Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

Cjcr Publishes Volume 24, Issue 2 (Spring 2023), Halle Jaffe

CJCR Blog

The Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution—the country’s preeminent legal journal of arbitration, negotiation, mediation, settlement, and restorative justice—today published the web edition of Volume 24, Issue 2 (Spring 2023). The print edition of the issue has also been released.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on May 10, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Why The Political Peace Process Failed Between The Afghanistan Central Government And The Taliban And How Using Negotiation Could Help Resolve The Conflict, Ross Herman

CJCR Blog

The central government of Afghanistan and the Taliban reached a deadly stalemate, taking around one hundred lives a day from each side between 2018 and 2021. Their failure to reach a peace agreement may be due to the United States’ involvement and conflicting interests between the different Afghan groups.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on May 7, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

California’S Proposed Ban On Mandatory Arbitration Agreements As A Condition Of Employment, Samuel Silverman

CJCR Blog

California is casting uncertainty on the employer’s ability to implement mandatory arbitration agreements on employees. In October 2019, Governor Newson signed Assembly Bill No. 51, which would apply to employment contracts entered, modified, or extended on or after January 1, 2020. This bill created Labor Code Section 432.6, banning mandatory arbitration agreements as a condition of employment in California. This would work around the Federal Arbitration Act, which requires courts to enforce arbitration agreements, preempting the state laws that stood in its way. Critics argue that the process favors employers and discourages prospective employees from bringing legal claims. On the …

To Zoom Or Not To Zoom?: Mediators’ Perspectives On Virtual Mediation, Penina Gershbaum

CJCR Blog

In mediation, conflicting parties meet with a mediator, a neutral party, to help them resolve their dispute. Mediations have traditionally been conducted in person, due to the importance of nonverbal communication in the mediation process. During Covid-19, however, states issued stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of the virus. This mandate led to mediations conducted virtually through the use of videoconferencing platforms like Zoom. I interviewed ten mediators who mediate across different areas of law to hear their thoughts on the differences between mediating virtually and in person, difficulties with mediating virtually, and if they will return to in person …

A Muddy Mess: The Supreme Court’S Jurisprudence On Jurisdiction For Arbitration Matters, Kristen M. Blankley

University of Miami Law Review

The Supreme Court’s 2022 Badgerow v. Waters decision at- tempts to create a bright-line rule regarding access to federal courts to hear arbitration matters. On its face, the Badgerow majority opinion reads like a straightforward exercise in textualism. Badgerow interpreted the judicial test for jurisdiction under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) provision regarding vacatur differently than it interpreted the jurisdictional test for a motion to compel under a different part of the statute. However, Badgerow leaves courts, which were already struggling to decipher the Supreme Court’s 2009 decision of Vaden v. Discover Bank, with a significant number of outstanding questions. …

Mlb’S Salary Arbitration: Future Prospects For A Historic Adr Model, Eliott Dosetareh

CJCR Blog

As the oldest major professional sports league in the country, the MLB’s record of salary arbitration has its roots in over 150 years of baseball history. The first Collective Bargaining Agreement or “CBA” was signed by the players union and owners in the early 1970s, creating a process for salary arbitration in which players not yet eligible for free agency would be compensated based upon their seasonal performances.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on April 30, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

How Nike’S Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Kool Kiy & Omi May Benefit From China’S Wuhan Intermediate People’S Court’S Approach To Mediation, Daniel Hyungtae Kim

CJCR Blog

In November 2022, Nike filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Kool Kiy, Omi, and China-based manufacturer Xiamen Wandering Planet, garnering nationwide media attention. Particularly, Wandering Planet was accused of playing an integral role in the infringement by providing the sources to produce knockoff sneakers using Nike’s registered Air Jordan 1 and Dunk trade dress for Kiy and Omi. The manufacturer allegedly “knowingly participate[d] in a scheme to intentionally create confusion in the market place and capitalize on it.” Indeed, some confused consumers could not tell the difference between Kool Kiy’s products and Jordan’s. Nike’s staunch commitment to proceeding with litigation …

Mediation In The Metaverse: The Future Of Online Dispute Resolution?, Miranda Sapoznik

CJCR Blog

The technological revolution was propelled following the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic. The wide-spread disruption of everyday functioning highlighted the need for virtual means of connection, consequentially altering communication norms across almost all arenas. Justice systems across the globe were no exception to this shift, as online dispute resolution ("ODR”) became a necessary mechanism to address legal conflicts. As ODR became the new normal in alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”), various digital platforms developed to accommodate the growing need.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on April 29, 2023. The original post can be …

Analyzing Brittney Griner’S Detention And Release, Zachary Knoop

CJCR Blog

Editor’s Note: The following article has two parts. The first part was written prior to the prisoner swap that brought Britney Griner back to America. The second part was added by the author after the swap.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on April 29, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Confidentiality In Art-Related Adr: A Need For Change?, Olivia Huey

CJCR Blog

Art and cultural heritage disputes can involve a variety of subject matter and “sensitive non-legal issues of a commercial, cultural, ethical, historical, moral, religious, or spiritual nature, while more often than not having a distinct international character. For such complex matters, there has long been conversations about the benefits of using ADR mechanisms instead of traditional litigation to address the issues that are highly relevant and important to the parties, but which courts are often not equipped or designed to address. Art-related disputes often involve not only a variety of private parties such as artists and art dealers but also …

Ending Forced Arbitration Of Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment, Lizzie Neuburger

CJCR Blog

Mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts are standard, limiting legal remedies available to employees who are sexual harassment and sexual assault victims and serving as a potential barrier to justice. However, the rise of the 2017 #MeToo movement revealed the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault, triggering lawmakers to focus on legal reforms for these areas in the workplace.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on April 25, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Mental Health Matters Act, Not Just Mental Health, Ethan Krantz

CJCR Blog

The Mental Health Matters Act, HR 7780, passed the House on September 29, 2022, by a vote of 220–205. The proposed resolution, currently awaiting a vote in the Senate, authorizes funding for the development of curricula that improve mental health for children, relaxes requirements for required documentation of disabilities, and allocates funding to research workplace stress across all industries in the wake of COVID-19. These provisions characterize bipartisan support to expand mental health resources and services for students and professionals.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on April 19, 2023. The original post …

Lights, Camera, Mediation: Why Public Figures In The Entertainment Industry Are Turning To Adr Processes To Resolve Their Disputes, Halle Jaffe

CJCR Blog

Imagine walking up the cold, stone stairs leading into a courthouse: your heart is pounding, your palms are sweaty, and you are fearful as to what the judge or jury who patiently await your arrival may decide. To make matters worse, you are surrounded by dozens of flashing lights, reporters are firing questions left and right, and your face will appear on every news outlet in the country within seconds.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on April 12, 2023. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

To Strike Or Not To Strike: The Call For Mandatory Adr In Private Teaching Union Disputes, Jessica Lalehzar

CJCR Blog

In November of 2022, nearly 1,800 adjunct faculty members at The New School in New York City went on a three-week long strike. The strike came after the university “failed to raise wages in pace with inflation,” prompting hundreds of students and faculty to walk out. The strike became the United States’s longest ever by adjunct faculty, which compose 90% of the university’s faculty. Many classes were cancelled as a result, leading to frustration among students and parents during a critical point in the semester. The union representing adjunct faculty, the ACT-UAW Local 7902, faced difficulty in reaching a negotiation …

Pass The Salt: Problem-Resolution Lawyering Across The Twenty-First Century Law Curriculum, Kris Franklin, F. Peter Phillips

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Attorneys work with clients to resolve problems. Legal education can help prepare law graduates to do that work. As an added bonus, doing so would in turn help law students understand and retain the subjects they study. Law professors who teach alternative dispute resolution, lawyering skills, clinics, and sometimes traditional doctrinal courses, have all called for greater inclusion of dispute resolution in the law school curriculum. Some have urged the introduction of specific courses to prepare contemporary law students to work as problem resolvers. This Article builds on these and other calls for reform, but urges a genuine reconceptualization of …

Masthead & Table Of Contents, Patrick Babajanian

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pipeline Coordination: The Importance Of Properly Defining An Arbitral Tribunal’S Authority In Gas Price Review Arbitration, Aikaterini (Katerina) Karamousalidou

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Unprecedented events in international gas commerce have significantly increased gas pricing disputes. International arbitration, as a neutral and binding process, offers a plethora of advantages to international players of the energy industry who are interested in resolving their disputes in an efficient way. However, gas price review is extremely complex. In particular, a gas price review clause is what delineates an arbitrator’s mandate and hence, arbitrators must be prudent to pay careful attention to act within the boundaries of their authority. Failure to do so may result in the award being set aside. This paper addresses: (1) the determination of …

Shifting Into “Neutral”: Evaluating Mediation As A Peaceful Alternative To The Forceful Resolution Of The 2022 Canada–Freedom Convoy Dispute, Teresa (Tessa) Griego

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

In early 2022, the Canadian government found itself confronted by a group of truck drivers—in what came to be known as the “Freedom Convoy”—protesting government-imposed restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article evaluates how mediation could—and should—have been used as an effective means for the government and protestors to resolve their dispute. It begins by defining the government health and safety measures that prompted the protests and describing the ensuing protest movement by the Freedom Convoy. The article then discusses the protest’s implications on commerce and on the communities where it was located. Next, the article describes the unilateral …

The New Normal: Navigating Legal Challenges In The World Of Influencer Marketing & How Adr Can Help, Olivia Davis

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Calming The Caucasus: Neutralizing Azerbaijan’S Military “Batna” To Restart The Peace Process In Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), Patrick Babajanian

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The article begins by surveying the historical background of the Artsakh conflict, from its ancient roots to the immediate aftermath of the 2020 war. It then introduces the key issue I identify as obstructing the peace process from resuming, namely Azerbaijan’s calculation that its military BATNA outweighs any value of continued negotiation. Next, the article evaluates two legal tactics the United States could implement in its national capacity to correct this situation, focusing on actions intended to limit Azerbaijan’s military strength by withholding foreign aid and enacting targeted sanctions, with the goal of achieving greater parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan …