Arbitration Clauses: Reconsidering the “Equitable” Relief Carveout
by Andrew Flake
When lawyers represent business clients in arbitration, they are often relying upon a contract, and an arbitration clause, they didn't draft themselves. That may be because they are assisting a first-time client. It may be because...
Supreme Court Roundup: A Slight Course Correction for the S.S. FAA?
by Andrew Flake
In sailing, to "tack" is to turn by making a series of small port-to-starboard moves, back and forth, into the wind. In looking at two very recent Supreme Court options dealing with arbitration, both issued within the past...
The Emergence of Required Third-Party Funding Disclosure
by Andrew Flake
In a standing order entered this week, the Chief Judge of Delaware's federal District Court has required all parties in cases before him to disclose at least the existence of any third-party funding (3PF), along...
Second Circuit: No Inherent Limit on Using Section 1782 Discovery Elsewhere
by Andrew Flake
We try to take advantage of great opportunities when they come along; if work takes us to Rome, and we have extra time, we might head to the Colosseum, take a stroll in...
How the (Chocolate) Gets Made: The Georgia Supreme Court’s “Edible Arrangements” Opinion
by Andrew Flake
As often as we hear about mediation and its benefits, and they are many, are there disputes that need to be decided in court, whether by judge or jury? Absolutely.
At a...
Arbitration Update: Another Effort to Exorcise “Manifest Disregard”
by Andrew Flake
One of the classic conventions of the scary movie is a villain or monster's "last gasp," a frightening reappearance after what should have been an antagonist's definitive end. In the arbitration context, we have such...
Two Chief Justices, and Why Institutional Independence Matters
by Andrew Flake
Every year, Chief Justice John Roberts prepares a report on the state of the judiciary, frequently with interesting reference to American history. This year, his thematic focus was judicial independence, a topic for which he selected former U.S. President and...
ADR in the New Year: Seven Hopes, and A Partridge in a Pear Tree
by Andrew Flake
A busy lawyer friend grumbled to me recently, with just a hint of bah-humbug, that he hadn't had nearly enough time to answer all of his holiday mail and take down holiday decorations yet, much less...
Hot Cocoa Conversation: A Servotronics Update
by Andrew Flake
With the advent of the holiday season come festivities and family events. Inevitably, as you're contentedly sipping spiced eggnog or hot cocoa, also comes the question from your Uncle Milton: "So what is the deal? Can I...
The Cognitive Coffee Cup: Opening Argument in the Complex Commercial Trial
by Andrew Flake
In reviewing developments in week one of the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos trial, a prosecution expected to last for over four months, I immediately thought of the preparation necessary on both sides to deliver their opening statements. Trials like...