That’s Just So Uber Irritating! By George H. Friedman* Several years ago I attended a speakers’ boot camp. The instructor had a habit of reacting to behavior that bothered him by exclaiming, “That’s just so irritating!” I’ve adopted that expression, which was easy to do since I’m so easily irritated.[1] With that in mind, let…
By George H. Friedman* As we enter this Independence Day weekend, I am inspired to compose a blog post on the often surprising relationships between our nation’s founders and arbitration. OK, the smash Broadway hit Hamilton also played a role. Either way, although America’s founders came from diverse political and socioeconomic backgrounds, some[1] seemed to…
By George H. Friedman* [ARS Chairman of the Board Friedman posted this on his blog at the Securities Arbitration Commentator. Reposted with the permission of and thanks to SAC] We all know the classic children’s story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, where the last of three approaches turns out to be “just right.” The story…
By George H. Friedman* As I expected, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) used a “field hearing” on arbitration on May 5th to release news that it will be moving ahead with rulemaking that will ban class action waivers (“CAWs”) in consumer financial arbitration clauses. This was not a hard call. CFPB’s previously-announced intention that…
By George H. Friedman* [The author thanks the Securities Arbitration Commentator for letting him borrow liberally from its Securities Arbitration Alert] Arbitration law practitioners sometimes forget that the Federal Arbitration Act(“FAA”) does not by itself establish independent federal subject matter jurisdiction. In other words, a party seeking access to the federal courts must establish an…
By George H. Friedman* [The author thanks the Securities Arbitration Commentator for letting him borrow liberally from its Securities Arbitration Alert] Much has been written in recent years about the likely demise of mandatory predispute arbitration agreements (“PDAAs”) in the consumer financial context. I should know, I’m one of the authors. But recent events have…
By George H. Friedman* [The author thanks the Securities Arbitration Commentator for letting him borrow liberally from its coverage of the cases below in its weekly Securities Arbitration Alert] Mediation in my eyes has sometimes been treated like the Rodney Dangerfield of the alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) field, not getting the full measure of respect…
Written by *George H. Friedman FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution (“ODR”) Director of Arbitration Richard Berry in a March 7 interview with Bloomberg BNA laid out the Office’s key objectives for 2016. FINRA operates the world’s largest dispute resolution forum for securities disputes, administering almost all such cases – 99%. Because dispute resolution changes at the…
By George H. Friedman* [ARS Chairman of the Board Friedman posted this on his blog at the Securities Arbitration Commentator. Reposted with the permission of and thanks to SAC] As we entered the new year, I blogged on Consumer Arbitration: Five Things to look for in 2016. Among my fearless predictions was “The Arbitration Fairness…
By George H. Friedman* [This was originally published in the NY State Bar Association’s Resolution Roundtable blog] There’s a wonderful book, The Presidents Club, covering the unique and sometimes surprising relationships among the fraternity (sorry, Carly and Hillary, no sorority yet) of current and former presidents. For example, who knew that Bill Clinton and the…