Alternative Dispute Resolution

Questioning the Process

Regarding “No More Kabuki Confirmations,” October, about U.S. Supreme Court nominees and better ways of handling this challenge, I offer my view as one recently retired after 59 years’ law practice.

Dec 2, 2009 5:19 AM CST

The Long Dubai

Even in the business-friendliest Mideast, arbitration can take forever

Dec 2, 2009 3:19 AM CST

Rate-a-Neutral

Group to offer evaluations of arbitrators, mediators

Dec 2, 2009 2:09 AM CST

Lawsuit Accusing Toyota of Destroying Evidence Is Headed for Arbitration

An arbitrator, rather than a judge, will hear claims by a former Toyota in-house lawyer that the automaker destroyed evidence in more than 300 rollover suits. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge George King of Los Angeles ruled that a 2007 severance agreement requires lawyer Dimitrios Biller to arbitrate his dispute with…

Nov 18, 2009 2:56 PM CST

Home Settling

Foreclosure mediation grows, but some wonder if it’s the best option

Nov 2, 2009 2:30 AM CST

Lawyer’s $900/Hour Arbitration Fee Angers Transit Board Members

After casting the swing vote in an arbitration that upped the ante on New York City transit worker pay by 11.3 percent over three years, a Weil Gotshal & Manges lawyer has added insult to injury as far as Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members are concerned. John Zuccotti charged the…

Oct 28, 2009 9:25 PM CDT

Litigation-Financing Fund Raises a Record $130M in London IPO

An initial public offering for the Burford Capital litigation-financing fund has raised $130 million through the sale of 80 million shares on London’s junior exchange. Participation by large institutional investors accounted for much of the record-breaking amount raised by a litigation fund, reports the Am Law Litigation Daily. Invesco UK…

Oct 16, 2009 8:11 PM CDT

As 7,500 Reveal Secret Bank Accounts in 70 Countries, IRS Hunts for More

As 7,500 Americans came forward to reveal, before a partial amnesty deadline today, undeclared accounts in 70 countries, the Internal Revenue Service is gearing up for an enhanced effort to find more. It has opened offices in Beijing, Sydney and Panama City and plans to hire 800 more employees, reports…

Oct 15, 2009 4:50 PM CDT

More Courts are Now Deciding Credit Card Disputes

Once a dominant method of resolving credit card disputes between consumers and banks, mandatory arbitration of such cases could eventually be eliminated throughout the industry if Congress acts to prohibit forced resolution outside the courts. After two major arbitration groups stopped handling credit card cases earlier this year, several major…

Oct 14, 2009 7:23 PM CDT

Recent High School Grads Lawyer Up in High-Society Minneapolis Spat

At first the Dayton family—yes, the Dayton department store family—tried to resolve the situation informally. But as a barrage of vandalism, deposits of human waste and the taunting phone calls and notes continued over a period of nearly two years at their exclusive Minneapolis home, they eventually resorted to litigation,…

Oct 13, 2009 10:05 PM CDT

Alec Baldwin Offers Divorce Advice in Paperback Book

Divorcing actress Kim Basinger was hell, says actor Alec Baldwin. Plus it cost both of them some $3 million in legal fees. But in a book that details the wrenching experience and has just been released in paperback, A Promise to Ourselves, he also offers some advice to others about…

Oct 1, 2009 5:33 PM CDT

New Service to Rate Arbitrators

An influential non-profit that promotes alternative dispute resolution is partnering with a little-known small company to promote an arbitrator rating service. The ratings, which will be made anonymously by lawyers who have used arbitrators listed on a directory maintained by Positively Neutral, will be available to members of International Institute…

Sep 28, 2009 10:22 PM CDT

Judge Suspended for 6 Months for Sending Clients to His Own Lawyer

Rejecting a recommendation that a Minnesota judge should be removed from office for steering matrimonial mediation cases to his own divorce attorney, the state supreme court has suspended him for six months without pay. The court also censured Goodhue County District Judge Timothy Blakely for his referral program. Although both…

Sep 17, 2009 9:38 PM CDT

Armored Truck Nicknamed Armadillo is Unique Anti-Crime Tool in Peoria, Ill.

It isn’t the surveillance cameras so much as the shame factor that makes an armored truck affectionately termed the Armadillo one of the most effective crime-fighting tools in the Peoria, Ill., town arsenal, officials say. When drug dealing or another household nuisance becomes too much for neighbors to endure, police…

Aug 18, 2009 11:34 PM CDT

Hertz to Use Digital Scan to Assess Renters for Car Damage

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is working on a plan to use high-resolution digital photographs to prove damage to its rental car fleet and assess customers for the cost. “There will be no discussion because the document would clearly show any incremental damage,” Mark Frissora, the company’s chairman and CEO, tells…

Aug 18, 2009 5:14 PM CDT