Presumptive ADR, which in many cases will mean mediation, will bring a sea change in the way cases are litigated in New York State. On May 14, 2019, New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced “a transformational move to advance the delivery and quality of civil justice in New York as part of [her] Excellence Initiative.”
Continue readingThe Crucial Prologue: Telling Your Story in the Pre-Mediation Statement
Co-authored with colleague Adam J. Halper, I am pleased to share this article written for New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer. Originally printed: NYSBA New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer | Fall 2018 | Vol. 11 | No. 2.
Continue readingMr. Eagle Featured in Thomson Reuters
Bart Eagle was featured in the April 2018 edition of Westlaw published by Thomson Reuters. The article was entitled, “Win the battle, win the war: Cost-effective dispute resolution for small and midsize companies”.
Continue readingNew Overtime Rules Expand Coverage to Millions
The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law each provide sections entitling employees who make less than a certain threshold income to overtime pay—meaning for any hours they work in excess of 40 hours per week. The federal law, which becomes effective December 1, 2016, raises the cut-off from $23,660 to $47,476 per year for most salaried workers.
Continue readingDiscovery Rules: Changes in the Commercial Division
As lawyers and many clients know, discovery can be very expensive and time-consuming. The default for most attorneys is to ask for everything to make sure they have “covered the waterfront”; after all, one does not want to miss an important document they may need for trial. In so doing, however, the cost can be astronomical and can far outweigh what is accomplished by actually securing voluminous documents or pieces of information.
Continue readingThe Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016: Important Information About Protecting Trade Secrets
A company’s interest in protecting its trade secrets was recently acknowledged by the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (the “DTSA”), a federal statute that was signed into law in May 2016. The new statute enhances a company’s efforts to protect its trade secrets by strengthening the remedies that may have been previously available.
Continue readingCommercial Division in New York County Supreme Court Launches Mandatory Mediation Pilot Project
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process in which adversarial parties engage in a negotiation with the goal of trying to arrive at a settlement acceptable to both sides. Mediation, at its most simplified, is a facilitated negotiation with a trained neutral mediator, who helps the parties identify and address the issues in dispute and helps them arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.
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