We’re all familiar with the symbol: Lady Justice carrying the balance scales. She holds a sword and sometimes is blindfolded to show a lack of prejudice. In most depictions the scales are balanced. She has righted the scale to dispense
How to Make the Perfect Offer
You know the case should settle. Why won’t the other side agree to your offer? Here are some tips for creating the perfect offer. I’m going to refer to both offers and demands as offers to settle in this article.…
Workers Comp Litigation Guidelines Should Define These Four Settlement Triggers
Civil litigators tend to observe certain guideposts as mediation triggers, such as the closing of discovery, setting of a trial date, or an order from the court to use mediation. Because about 95% of civil cases settle before trial, mediation…
Applying the Scientific Method to Case Resolution
Title VII Discrimination No Longer Needs Be “Significant Disadvantage”
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on several protected classes (like race, sex, and religion). Courts had previously held that the impact to the employee claiming discrimination had to be a “significant…
Civil Trials Resume in Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties
As I’ve mentioned previously, judge shortages in NJ Superior Courts plus COVID delays have created significant backlogs in cases. In seven NJ counties (Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester, Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren, and Passaic) the judge shortages were so severe that the court…
Honored to Speak to Employment and ADR Inns of Court
On Tuesday, I was honored to speak to a joint meeting of the Reitman Employment Inn of Court and the Garibaldi ADR (alternative dispute resolution) Inn of Court. Inns of Court are statewide groups with members from the bar (lawyers)…
ECJ: Choice of Court Agreement under Brussels I Regulation Effective Without Foreign Element
Last week, the European Court of Justice held that choice of court agreements fall within the scope of Article 25(1) Brussels I Regulation if parties to a contract domiciled in the same Member State agree on the jurisdiction of the…
The Best Jazz Album 2023 – A Comparative Survey
This is the third annual survey of this kind. This year, I have adopted the same basic approach as in the 2022 survey: The table below combines the Anglo-Saxon view of the jazz world, represented by the New York Times…
It’s Confidential, So I Can Lie, Right?
An important underlying principle of mediation is that communications made in the course of mediation are not admissible in other civil forums. So, is it okay to make stuff up?
There’s a Rule
California Rule of Professional Conduct 4.1 provides,…