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Same As It Ever Was?
In the past few years, the Supreme Court has issued several important decisions limiting the availability of class-wide arbitration. While the impact on class-wide arbitration itself has been explored intensively, the potential impact on other forms of aggregation has received somewhat less attention, even though principles announced in these class arbitration cases could have an impact on the consolidation of commercial arbitration, including insurance coverage disputes. Lower courts, however, largely consider the landscape for consolidation relatively unchanged. Although several important questions remain unanswered by the Supreme Court, present case law suggests that arbitration clauses may permit consolidation even if those clauses do not address the issue overtly, and that arbitrators, rather than courts, make those decisions.
1. Consolidation of Insurance Arbitration: The Existing Regime
Arbitration is an attractive alternative to traditional litigation for many insurance coverage litigants, potentially offering heightened guarantees of confidentiality and the opportunity to draw upon rules providing expedited or more limited discovery. In some circumstances, arbitration can also provide a more cost-effective and a faster means of resolving disputes, though this, of course, varies considerably depending upon the nature of the dispute and the specific procedures involved. The private, contractual nature of arbitration, however, raises challenges for insurance disputes involving numerous related policies, such as commercial liability claims affecting both primary and excess policies. If such disputes were litigated in a judicial forum, the governing procedural rules would typically provide various ways of determining whether the parties should be brought together in one proceeding, such as joinder of parties or consolidation of actions for purposes of trial. Commercial arbitrations, by contrast, may lack well-established procedures on this point, and interested parties often simply move the courts or the arbitrators to order (or to prevent) consolidation of related arbitrations.
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.
Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.