Don’t Ignore the Benefits of Joint Sessions in Mediation

Joint Sessions Are Valuable; How to Conduct Them. Many mediators and counsel discourage the use of joint sessions in mediation. Counsel often believe that having the parties together in the same room (either physically or virtually) will exacerbate the tensions already present in the litigation and hinder resolution. Mediators often believe, with some justification, that… Read more »

Arbitrator Selection Is a Key Component of the Arbitration Process

Arbitrator selection is a critical component of every arbitration proceeding given that the selection will determine who will adjudicate the dispute. Commercial arbitration is a creature of contract. The parties in their contract provide for the governing arbitral organization and rules, if any, and how the arbitrator or arbitrators are to be selected. The parties,… Read more »

Merger Guidelines Should Provide For Competition Trustees

On July 19, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission announced proposed revised merger guidelines. Immediately, negative critique appeared in the legal and business press, despite the fact that it is highly unlikely these draft guidelines will be substantively changed for political reasons. The proposed guidelines list 13 factors that alone or in combination… Read more »

Former Arizona chief justice to mediate between California and tribes

The tribes claim Gov. Gavin Newson violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in negotiations over reviewing their casino gaming compacts. Four tribes and the state of California have agreed to allow former Arizona Chief Justice W. Scott Bales to mediate their long-running disputes over renewing gaming compacts. Bales served two years as Arizona’s solicitor general… Read more »

A Breakdown of the Latest Proposed SEC Cyber Regulations

Contact the author As many readers may know, the SEC has been engaged in rule-making on various cybersecurity issues intended to modernize its existing regulations and keep in line with emerging privacy and data security risks and norms. If adopted, it is likely that recently-covered entities will materially increase the compliance burdens on SEC-regulated entities… Read more »

Webinar: Ukraine and Reparations – An Update and a Call to Action for California International Arbitrators
From California International Arbitration Week 2023

On November 14, 2022, the UN General Assembly passed an historic resolution calling for Russia to pay war reparations to Ukraine and establishing an international mechanism to compensate Ukrainians for their damages as well as a register to document evidence and claims. The Ukraine government has invited Columbia Law School International Claims and Reparations Project... Read more »

Trump’s Greatest Deal

Tuesday April 11, 2023 – The spectacle last week of the former president in the dock was striking. For one who has been around the court system for more than a half century, it's natural to speculate on how this case will turn out. I won't make a prediction - there are too many unknowns.... Read more »

The Human Dimension

Former US judge Jeremy Fogel is passionate about giving disputants a chance to be heard November 25, 2022 – Retired federal Judge Jeremy D. Fogel isn't ready to quit his day job as the executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, but he is enjoying the hands-on opportunity to help people resolve their disputes a... Read more »

The Supreme Court ends discovery for use in foreign arbitrations – or does it?
By Kennen D. Hagen and Jonathan Tompkins

International arbitration has long been a favored form of dispute resolution because of its efficiency, finality, and other salient features. Still, many parties in arbitration find situations that demand discovery akin to that available in U.S. judicial proceedings. One federal statute—28 U.S.C. § 1782 – has been used by parties in commercial and investor-state arbitrations... Read more »

Avoiding Pitfalls in Preparing a Mediation Term Sheet

If the parties can agree upon a settlement in mediation, it is essential that they put their agreement in writing, even if the mediation extends well into the night. Waiting until the next day can be dangerous since parties often change their minds about the deal after sleeping on it. The best way to memorialize... Read more »

Webinar: Columbia Energy Straight Talk with Cheryl LaFleur and David Hill | Energy Law and Policy
A View from the Bench with Judge Thomas B. Griffith

The Center on Global Energy Policy's Columbia Energy Straight Talk is a discussion series hosted by David Hill and Cheryl LaFleur, CGEP Adjunct Senior Research Scholars. In this episode, David and Cheryl hosted Judge Thomas B. Griffith, recently retired from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The U.S. Court of... Read more »

Putting in a Good Word for Compromise – James C. Freund

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021 In the business world, the need for compromise arises both in making deals and in resolving disputes - a duality that's crucial to recognize in approaching the subject. Click here to read James C. Freund's article entitled "Putting in a Good Word for Compromise" that recently published in Alternatives. Read the... Read more »

Is Your Mediation Confidential? – By Robert J. Jossen

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021 A keystone to the mediation process is the assumption that all that takes place will be held confidential. Click here to read Robert J. Jossen's article that recently published in the New York Law Journal. Read the full article here:

Mass Arbitrations – By Kennen D. Hagen

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 Mass arbitrations are becoming the new class actions, and a multi-million-dollar legal headache for many companies. Click here to read Kennen D. Hagen's article that recently published on TodaysGeneralCounsel.com. Read the full article here:

Breaking The Mediation Impasse – The Mediator Proposal

MONDAY AUGUST 16, 2021 Many disputes come so close to resolving, but parties cannot seem to bridge that gap between them. Enter the mediator's proposal. Click here to read John Delehanty's article that recently published in the New York Law Journal about impasses and mediator's proposals. Read the full article here:

How Confidential Are Mediation Communications? – Judge Raymond T. Lyons

MONDAY, JULY 6, 2020 “Confidentiality is an important feature of the mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes. Promising participants confidentiality in these proceedings promotes the free flow of information that may result in the settlement of a dispute.” “Were courts to cavalierly set aside confidentiality restrictions on disclosure of communications made in the context... Read more »

Mediations Forever Changed – Judge Vaughn Walker

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 Seeing the advantage of using videoconferencing, I’m convinced that, in mediations, we’re not going to back to status quo after COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders under which most of us have been living have changed many aspects of our lives. Although not the most significant change in the larger... Read more »

Getting Real About Discovery in Arbitrations

MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020 Arbitration is not like litigation. Among the ways they differ is the way in which discovery is treated. Because of the revolutionary impact on our business and personal lives of electronic communications, modern-day discovery is often an exercise in discovering, managing, and using electronic data. In addition, because of the relative... Read more »

Deal-Dispute Mediating: A Former Deal-Maker’s Perspective

James Freund Mediator FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 This is prime territory for mediation—especially because it’s not easy for judges or arbitrators to resolve disputed issues of business judgment, nor may they impose on the situation the kind of resourceful business solutions that the parties can hopefully fashion with the mediator’s assistance. Most of the business... Read more »

Another arbitration service – FedArb – establishes new mass arbitration protocol

(Reuters) - With high-profile companies like Postmates, DoorDash, DraftKings and FanDuel tangling with the American Arbitration Association over AAA's fee requirements in thousands of individual arbitrations filed against the companies, smaller arbitration services are sensing an opportunity. I told you last month about new rules adopted by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution,... Read more »