The idealists in the mediation movement have struggled to maintain the vision of the forefathers and foremothers who discovered the process. This has led to a complicated but critical discussion about which parts of the process are working and which are not. The central focus of the process that has been under scrutiny is whether or not to conduct a joint session, a key communication piece of the process.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a district court’s order vacating an arbitral panel’s award in a legal fees dispute.

Assistant Professor of Law Kristen Blankley, University of Nebraska College of Law, has published a thoughtful paper entitled, “A Uniform Theory of Federal Court Jurisdiction Under the Federal Arbitration Act,” George Mason Law Review, Forthcoming.

In Part Nine, we discussed the rap on special masters – the concern that special masters can be expensive and potentially ineffective; prone to an alternative agenda; and chosen because of connections to the judge. We suggested that the fact that at least the federal rules include no regularized method of selection or apparent qualification for the job of special master does not help to beat that rap. So what would help?