You can read all kinds of Richard Susskind books about disruption in the legal markets, but sometimes, like St. Thomas, you gotta see it to believe it. Recently I attended a Mediation Summit in Hangzhou, China, and with some other American colleagues I was given a tour of the West Lake...
For many years, a tempest has surrounded public policy approaches to consumer protection, largely implicating three utterly inapt legal constructs: FRCP 23, the Federal Arbitration Act, and traditional principles of contract formation. Accustomed to managing customer complaints but unwilling to expose themselves to the coercion of class actions, companies have...
Lincoln famously wrote: “As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man.” Without challenging this proposition, I have often wondered to what extent lawyers are uniquely positioned to achieve “goodness,” or to do “good” for others. Don’t teachers also have a “superior opportunity” to do...
Those who know me, know that I am an avid enthusiast of Richard Wagner's theatre works. This year alone I have attended a Ring Cycle in Washington, a performance of Das Rheingold in Chicago, a new productions of Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera, another Tristan at the English...
The Union International des Avocats have hosted the World Forum of Mediation Centres since 2002, and I have attended all but three of their meetings. It is a convivial crowd of well-informed, deeply committed and sociable folks who tend to meet at interesting (mostly European) venues. The meeting scheduled for Luxembourg...
Our good friend Paul Lurie advises of new frontiers for his capable dispute resolution approach, "Guided Choice":...
Wendy Kamenshine, Ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau office, along with her colleague Sharon Asar, conducted an interesting presentation at the recent ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting on the role of the Ombudsman office at the CFPB. The role of the office is to advocate for a fair process...