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...
Appellate Advocacy in the Zoom Era
by Andrew Flake
What has changed, in this time of virtual cat-filters and huge daily dollops of professional screen time, about good appellate advocacy? Instead of standing behind a podium, in a quiet and majestic appellate courtroom, ...
“And If You Didn’t Hear Us the Last Time”: More Emphasis on Arbitral Award Finality
by Andrew Flake
A just-issued Georgia Court of Appeals opinion underscores a message the state's appellate courts have been sending for some time: Arbitration awards are not subject to automatic appeal. They are supposed to be, and are presumed...
Location, Location, Location: Forum-Selection in International Litigation
by Andrew Flake
I once spent a week arbitrating a technology dispute in Helsinki, Finland, walking through the city center to our hearing each day in gusting snow. We were there because the parties' contract specified a Finnish seat,...
Phased ADR Clauses, Redux
by Andrew Flake
Having discussed phased dispute resolution, a process in our contracts that moves from more informal modes of discussion to binding ones, like arbitration, let's add some caveats. These provisions are not off-the-rack suits, to be draped...