Alternative Dispute Resolution

Hijacking Victims Sue Crowell & Moring Over Fees, Distribution of Awards

Crowell & Moring is facing another lawsuit over its handling of settlement money and its contingency fee award in its representation of victims of the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Pakistan. Courthouse News Service and the National Law Journal report on the latest suit filed against the…

Aug 17, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Recruiter Claims He Is Owed $1.5M for Bingham and McKee Merger

After Bingham McCutchen and McKee Nelson announced their merger last year, California legal recruiter Alan Miles sent along his bill for introducing the two firms: $1.5 million. Bingham balked at paying, and after making a $500,000 offer to settle the dispute, Miles took the matter to arbitration, the American Lawyer…

Aug 10, 2010 12:53 PM CDT

Video Game CEO Balks at $1M Legal Bill, But Appeals Court Says He Has to Pay

When dealing with a sexual harassment suit, an executive of a video game giant allegedly said he wanted to spend to defend rather than settle with the plaintiff for $200,000 to $400,000. But when it came time to pay his attorney’s nearly seven-figure legal bill, Bobby Kotick of Activision Blizzard…

Aug 4, 2010 4:22 PM CDT

The Price of Oil

Lawyers see both promise and problems in the $20 billion Gulf Coast compensation fund

Aug 1, 2010 9:17 AM CDT

The Go-To Mediator

Kenneth R. Feinberg could hardly have been surprised to get the call when the White House needed an experienced hand to administer the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Claims Facility, tasked with distributing the $20 billion fund BP created in June to compensate individuals and businesses for losses from the Deepwater…

Aug 1, 2010 9:10 AM CDT

Divorce Lawyer Changes Approach After Her Own Marriage Crumbles

Maryland divorce lawyer Regina DeMeo changed the way she practices law after her own marriage ended. Before her divorce, DeMeo took a businesslike approach when counseling divorce clients, the Washington Post reports. “OK, come on,” she would think. “Get yourself together and let’s move on.” Then DeMeo herself divorced after…

Jun 23, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Maricopa Board to Hire Uber-Arbitrator for Claims Against Sheriff, Ex-County Attorney

The Maricopa County, Ariz., Board of Supervisors is expected Wednesday to approve the hiring of uber-arbitrator Kenneth Feinberg to handle claims brought against the local government by high-level county managers, elected officials, judges and other employees who say they suffered harassment and abuse of power by the sheriff and former…

Jun 22, 2010 5:36 PM CDT

Supreme Court Says Arbitrator Must Resolve Claim that Employment Agreement Is Unconscionable

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an employee who claims his entire arbitration agreement with his company is unconscionable must have that dispute resolved by the arbitrator. The 5-4 opinion (PDF) holds that the Federal Arbitration Act requires the claim of Rent-a-Center employee Roberto Jackson to be heard by…

Jun 21, 2010 2:54 PM CDT

As Public Criticism Grows, ‘Too Distracting’ Banker Retains Gloria Allred

An attractive New York banker who sparked a media frenzy by suing her former employer for allegedly firing her because she was “too distracting” in a business suit and high heels hasn’t fared well lately in the court of public opinion. A years-old video clip in which Debrahlee Lorenzana extols…

Jun 15, 2010 6:39 PM CDT

Curvy Banker Says She Was Fired for Being ‘Too Distracting’ in Business Suit and Heels

In a new chapter of the ongoing, much-debated saga about appropriate attire for female professionals, a former business banking officer at a Citibank branch in New York City contends she was criticized and eventually fired because male co-workers found her curvaceous figure “too distracting” in a standard business suit and…

Jun 3, 2010 12:06 AM CDT

Working Together, Living Together

Sometimes the choice of practice can bring a better balance

Jun 1, 2010 7:00 AM CDT

Law Firm Adds Muslim Imam to Roster as Adviser on Shariah Law

In a move that is being billed as the first of its kind in Australia, a Melbourne law firm is putting a Muslim imam on its roster as a consultant on shariah law. This will allow Logie-Smith Lanyon to draft documents and resolve issues in matters ranging from commercial contracts…

May 10, 2010 4:47 PM CDT

Supreme Court Bars Class-Action Arbitration Absent Contract Agreement

The U.S. Supreme Court has barred class arbitration of a price-fixing claim in an opinion that scolded an arbitration panel for proceeding as if it had common-law authority. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-3 opinion that class arbitration may not be imposed on parties who did not agree to…

Apr 27, 2010 2:42 PM CDT

Justice Breyer Considers ‘Joe Bananas’ Influence in Arbitration Contracts

Justice Stephen G. Breyer appeared to be one of the few justices Monday to side with an employee who wants his challenge to an arbitration agreement to be decided by a court. The employer, the Nevada branch of Rent-A-Center, says its arbitration agreement requires questions about unconscionability to be decided…

Apr 27, 2010 1:29 PM CDT

Anonymous Speech Case Among Supreme Court’s Final Four Arguments

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the right to anonymous speech in one of four cases that will be argued this week in the term’s final days of argument. The case, Doe v. Reed, pits the right to anonymous speech against access to government, the National Law Journal reports. Under…

Apr 27, 2010 10:30 AM CDT