By Mikita Weaver Scholars and practitioners alike often seem up in arms about the “vanishing trial.” Most seem worried that this decline in litigation will ultimately destroy justice. Instead of achieving justice through a court system, conflicts are being resolved without the assistance of lawyers, judges, and–dare I say—lots of time, money, and resources! Many …
By Amy L. Lieberman, Esq. C- Level and senior executive conflicts are a different animal. Significant amounts of money and even entire businesses can be at stake. Personalities can be larger than life. Conflict at this level of any company requires both a pragmatic and diplomatic approach. Individual and even corporate reputations can be ravaged, …
Can you back out of a settlement agreement if you have changed your mind? Evaluation of the risks of litigation and candid discussions of the possible strength of opponents’ arguments and the weakness of one’s own may make it seem as if everyone is against you. The gulf between initial expectations and final settlement can be …
What does the perfect arbitration agreement look like? If you are seeking one agreement that will be ideal across the board, there is no such thing. Of course, there are provisions that should be in your arbitration agreement. Before discussing how to draft the perfect arbitration agreement, we should consider some of the arbitration’s imperfections. …
What is the job of a judge, and how should he or she go about it? Is it only to interpret and apply the law, or is their role to “do justice”? The answers to these questions are important because the law affects many parts of our daily lives. Therefore, how it is applied is …
Requiring parties to participate in mediation before a lawsuit is becoming more common, but it has many parties questioning if mediation is mandatory and what the implication of making it mandatory is doing to the mediation process. Mediation was created as an alternative process to litigation to help the parties attempt to resolve their disputes …
It is unlikely that one can make it through a discussion about international investment without considering the impact of bilateral investment treaties. Bilateral investment treaties, or BITs, offer a higher level of protection, and options for dispute resolution, than investments without such treaties. Yet a person investing in their own country without much, or any, …
As disputes arise and parties are beginning to consider some form of legal action or resolution process, the parties will likely be considering legal representation. There are a variety of factors that will go into a party’s decision on whether or not to hire a lawyer, and there are benefits and drawbacks to hiring a …
By Patricia H. Thompson, FCIArb Arbitration provides a toolbox of dispute resolution options that are quicker, more targeted, and less expensive than litigation. However, formal and informal surveys reveal that one important component of this toolbox is unknown or misunderstood by corporate and outside counsel: the parties’ contractual right to appeal the final award, “on …
The excitement and joy of building a new home can quickly be overshadowed by a construction lien, or as it is more commonly known, a mechanic’s lien. Construction liens exist because it guarantees that a contractor will be paid for the work and materials that they put into a home or building. It allows a …