Sean Gay | Ahead of Schedule Like many modern American legal principles, the concept of the lien originated in England, where those who performed physical labor—so-called “mechanics”—were given a “charge” on the items upon which they worked. Shortly after the American Revolution, states and territories in the United States began enacting statutes giving builders lien… Continue reading A Brief History of Oregon’s Construction Lien Law
Holding Subcontractors to Their Bid: The Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel
John Mark Goodman and Joe Mack Curry II | BuildSmart Most legally enforceable contracts are formed the old-fashioned way: offer and acceptance. Courts will sometimes enforce promises without traditional offer and acceptance where one party has justifiably relied on the other party’s promise. This alternative route to contract formation is called promissory estoppel. While the law varies from… Continue reading Holding Subcontractors to Their Bid: The Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel
AI Chats May Be Discoverable, Even Those Regarding Legal Strategy
Kaitlyn E. Stone and William M. Carlucci | Barnes & Thornburg Highlights As some have argued that the use of artificial intelligence technologies shall ultimately become ubiquitous in the practice of law, questions regarding the discoverability of prompts and outputs have been omnipresent in the minds of litigators and sophisticated litigants. A U.S. court has… Continue reading AI Chats May Be Discoverable, Even Those Regarding Legal Strategy
Leaders in Dispute Resolution Need to Make Unbiased Decisions for Mediation to Succeed
Richard Erickson | Snell & Wilmer As a mediator helping to settle construction disputes and as an arbitrator deciding outcomes of these disputes, I found certain lessons to be especially helpful after graduating last summer from the Executive Education program at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). The exceptional HKS curriculum included courses focused on negotiation strategies… Continue reading Leaders in Dispute Resolution Need to Make Unbiased Decisions for Mediation to Succeed
Walking In Your Client’s Shoes: How Client Empathy Makes You a Better Lawyer
Sally J. Schmidt | Attorney At Work I heard a lawyer tell a joke once that went something like this: “If you’re having trouble with a client, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, you will have a one-mile head start and he won’t have any shoes.” It’s a funny line. And I know… Continue reading Walking In Your Client’s Shoes: How Client Empathy Makes You a Better Lawyer