Alternative Dispute Resolution

Kirkland & Ellis Disdains Litigation—Against Itself

Kirkland & Ellis was recently named American Lawyer’s “Litigation Department of the Year” for its courtroom victories, but the law firm would prefer that its associates keep their employment disputes out of court. Kirkland & Ellis recently dispatched a memo to its associates and other employees informing them that they…

Feb 22, 2008 3:34 PM CST

Labor Unions and Lawsuits Grab High Court’s Attention

The U.S. Supreme Court accepted two cases today that involve labor unions and lawsuits, SCOTUSblog reports. One case concerns the enforceability of a labor union contract with an employer that bars members from filing lawsuits over workplace discrimination. Another asks the court to clarify when unions can charge nonmembers for…

Feb 19, 2008 4:59 PM CST

Bratz Maker Ordered to Pay $13.2M in Video Licensing Dispute

A video game publisher has won a $13.2 million arbitration award against the owner of Bratz dolls, a development that could signal the potential for high-stakes litigation involving the video game industry. Ubisoft Entertainment obtained the award in a licensing dispute with the owner of the Bratz doll copyright, MGA…

Feb 13, 2008 2:33 PM CST

Outsourcing Alternative: Law Firm Sets Up Own Shop in India

Apparently weary of seeing clients defect to to low-cost companies in India and elsewhere when it came time to perform so-called legal process work, at least one major U.S. law firm reportedly is fighting back. Howrey is opening its own office in India, although outsourcing is not what it is…

Feb 11, 2008 6:06 PM CST

Kansas Lawyer Helps Rewrite Jordan’s ADR Laws in ABA Project

A Kansas lawyer traveled to Jordan for three months to help teach alternative dispute resolution through the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative. Lawrence lawyer Kathy Kirk of Lawrence helped teach lawyers and judges about ADR, and helped rewrite the laws to allow judges to order the procedure, the…

Jan 28, 2008 4:26 PM CST

Mortgage Lenders Cut Deals With Delinquent Debtors

Once upon a time, when borrowers couldn’t pay their mortgages, the banks who loaned money to them foreclosed. But today, faced with record-breaking foreclosure rates and a housing market in which a boarded-up bank-owned property can be very difficult to sell, even at a significant loss, lenders are rethinking the…

Jan 22, 2008 4:34 PM CST

Lawyer for ‘Judge Alex’ Faces Tough Time in Supreme Court

The lawyer for a TV judge “seemed stunned and weary” after a tough U.S. Supreme Court argument yesterday, his seventh appearance before the court, Legal Times reports. Eric Brunstad Jr. has developed an impressive Supreme Court practice from his offices at Bingham McCutchen in Hartford, Conn., but the justices “hammered…

Jan 15, 2008 4:40 PM CST

IAAF Ruling in Unusual Case: Amputee Can’t Run in Olympics

A man who had both his legs amputated below the knee when he was a small child can’t compete as a sprinter in the 2008 Olympics because the prosthetic limbs he uses give him a competitive advantage over the other runners. The International Association of Athletics Federations ruled today that…

Jan 14, 2008 10:51 PM CST

The Case of Judge Alex and the Preston-Change-O Arbitration Contract

The case of the TV judge billed as “tall, dark and judgmental” heads to the U.S. Supreme Court today for a ruling on whether his dispute with a former manager should go to a private arbitrator. “Judge Alex” as Alex Ferrer is known, contends California law requires initial issues in…

Jan 14, 2008 1:41 PM CST

Putting a Kinder Face on Litigation

ABA opinion gives collaborative law practice an ethics thumbs-up

Jan 1, 2008 8:47 PM CST

Kinder, Gentler Collaborative Divorce Also Costs Less

A kinder, gentler method of getting divorced has won fans among both clients and counsel. But it has yet to win over some traditionalists, who wonder, for instance, why collaborative divorce must include a promise not to litigate. (Those who violate the ban on courtroom battle have to start over…

Dec 18, 2007 8:48 PM CST

No Risk for Companies Writing Unfair Arbitration Agreements

Companies see little downside when they write an unfair arbitration agreement covering employment disputes, a plaintiffs employment lawyer told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). That’s because courts usually strike the offending provisions and enforce the rest of the arbitration agreement, said San Francisco lawyer Cliff Palefsky. “There is little…

Dec 18, 2007 12:16 PM CST

Irked Client Publicly Zings Counsel

Apparently unsuccessful in an effort to contest a $342,000 legal bill in court, the owners of a bankrupt construction company have taken their complaints over the way a big Buffalo, N.Y., law firm handled their case to the court of public opinion. A billboard, a website, flyers distributed to area…

Dec 7, 2007 1:04 AM CST

Fee Arb Bars Legal Malpractice Suit

A divorce client who unsuccessfully contests her matrimonial counsel’s bill in arbitration can’t then turn around and sue for malpractice over the legal fees the law firm charged her, a New York appeals court has ruled. The arbitration was over a claim filed by Laurie Wallenstein with a grievance committee,…

Nov 20, 2007 9:26 PM CST

‘Unprecedented Peek’ at Health Insurer Claims-Handling

Due to the important public policy issues implicated, a former California judge overseeing an arbitration over a health insurer’s cancellation of a policyholder’s coverage has opened up the hearing to reporters and made public documents produced for the case. By doing so, former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam…

Nov 9, 2007 7:04 PM CST