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April 28, 2014
Rites of Spring: Evaluations based--at least in part--on client service standards.
This blog began nine years ago as a daily diversion from the demands of lawyering. It became an eclectic soapbox for a few pet issues and interests: discovery and trial, arbitration in the Americas and abroad, popularly-elected state judges, cultural literacy in America, online anonymity, Parker Posey, the wonders of London and Paris--and building and enforcing customer service regimes for professionals. Lawyers especially. If you are serious about building and keeping a client service culture, weave specific client service standards into every employee performance review. We think it's an idea here to stay.
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Posted by JD Hull at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2014
In Texas: Dallas County jury awards family $2.9 million in "intentional" nuisance fracking case.
In Parr v. Aruba Petroleum, Inc. (Dallas County, TX 2011), a Texas family sued an oil company for health problems and loss of property value arising from wells drilled in the Barnett Shale Formation near their 40 acre ranch. For some details plus a copy of the plaintiffs' complaint in Tuesday's "Earth Day" verdict, see the blog post of the Parrs' attorney, David Matthews in "$3 Million Verdict in Texas Fracking Case". The jury apparently found 5-1 that defendant Aruba had "intentionally" created a private nuisance despite Aruba's contentions "that it had complied with air quality and drilling safety guidelines set by the Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TDECQ)". Aruba will appeal.
Drilling in Barnett Shale Formation near Alvarado, Texas
Posted by JD Hull at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2014
Happy 450th, Mr. Shakespeare.
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Posted by JD Hull at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2014
England's most famous Etonian suffers a lapse in class.
Did the British PM blow a few "dog-whistles" at cranky devout Christian voters last week? Though almost a week old, this story has legs--in and beyond Old Blighty--because it's so, well, appalling. It is also cringe-worthy for any American, with or without an understanding of English constitutional law, who stayed awake during high school civics back in Indiana. David Cameron, Britain's Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party, apparently decided to tap the ever-dwindling Church of England "cultural" vote. The Guardian was one of the first to report it in "Prime Minister David Cameron: I am evangelical about Christian faith". To make matters worse, Cameron also said that England was a "Christian" country. A day later, the Guardian's Polly Toynbee wrote her own piece, "David Cameron won't win votes by calling Britain a Christian country", and asked
So why God now?
His core message, "This is a Christian country", dog-whistles to key voters. Ostensibly, it soothes the noisy but electorally few affronted folk in the pews angry about gay marriage, whose fury he had underestimated. For them Cameron ladled out syrupy retro-visions of the C of E [Church of England] of his Oxfordshire upbringing, its liturgy and heritage, his love of early morning eucharist at his children's school's church. But his "Christian country" message is really whistling to the errant flock fled to Ukip. They may never attend, but the C of E is a cultural identity marker for those sharing Nigel Farage's distaste for foreign tongues on his commuter train.
Naturally, Cameron is careful to say "this is not somehow doing down other faiths". But those who feel threatened on account of their non-Christian faith won't find Christian branding reassuring. This week, an article on this site described how the far right is using pork to persecute Jews and Muslims, as Marine Le Pen stops schools serving non-pork options in the French towns she now controls. More horrible still, members of the Flemish Vlaams Belang party reportedly stormed into a school and forced pork sausages into children's mouths.
Can I get an amen?
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2014
National Academy of Sciences: Methane releases from Pennsylvania fracking grossly underestimated.
A significant environmental development appeared in the Los Angeles Times two days ago. The story was apparently missed by mainstream press in western Pennsylvania. See "EPA drastically underestimates methane released at drilling sites", which begins:
Drilling operations at several natural gas wells in southwestern Pennsylvania released methane into the atmosphere at rates that were 100 to 1,000 times greater than federal regulators had estimated, new research shows.
Using a plane that was specially equipped to measure greenhouse gas emissions in the air, scientists found that drilling activities at seven well pads in the booming Marcellus shale formation emitted 34 grams of methane per second, on average. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that such drilling releases between 0.04 grams and 0.30 grams of methane per second.
The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to a growing body of research that suggests the EPA is gravely underestimating methane emissions from oil and gas operations. The agency is expected to issue its own analysis of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector as early as Tuesday, which will give outside experts a chance to assess how well regulators understand the problem.
Hat tip: Pittsburgh-based businessman Michael Simms.
Joshua Doubek photo: Halliburton frack site, Bakken Formation, North Dakota
Posted by JD Hull at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2014
Sarah Silverman for Congress in 2016, New Hampshire, 1st Congressional District.
And what's not to like? Forty-three now, she's smart, well-educated, articulate, outspoken--and of course funny. She grew up in Manchester, NH. She is very likely a Democrat. Interesting fact: Silverman's mother, Beth Ann, was Sen. George McGovern’s personal campaign photographer during his 1972 presidential bid.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2014
Is clean technologies still a fad?
For over three decades, all manner of "alternative energy" products have been pitched as safer, healthier and cheaper ways to energy independence, especially during periods when oil prices are at their highest. Certainly, the idea of cleantech, green technologies and renewable resources is not new. The chronic obstacle for the industries that have formed around the idea? Making non-fossil energy sources affordable to consumers. But some cost-efficiencies are finally being achieved. At the very least, clean technologies these days is more than a recurring new age fad. See "Myths and realities of clean technologies", just out from McKinsey & Company.
Offshore wind farm near Copenhagen
Posted by JD Hull at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2014
The Economist: "Ukraine, the disappearing country"
Here. For Russia, “this region will not be enough. They want everything. They will take all Ukraine.”
Th Economist
Posted by JD Hull at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2014
The Duke experience: Salon excerpt from new book about Duke lacrosse rape case.
In early 2006, three members of Duke University's nationally ranked lacrosse case were falsely accused of rape in a protracted, much publicized, over-hyped criminal case brought in Durham, North Carolina (where Duke, for odd historical reasons, is located). It led, for starters, to the resignation of the Duke lacrosse team's head coach, cancellation of the remainder of school's 2006 lacrosse season, and the disbarment of the case's initial lead prosecutor for Durham County, North Carolina. The lacrosse case even had/has its own legal blog, Durham-In-Wonderland, still continuing, and one of the the better analytical blawgs out there. And now there's a new book (the third, by my count) about the episode: "The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, the Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Universities" (Scribner) by William D. Cohan, a well-regarded business writer. Cohan, like me, is a Duke grad. The party where the alleged rape occurred was in a house a few down from my house at Duke, on Buchanan Avenue, when as an undergraduate I worked on Duke's daily newspaper. I am still active in things Duke. So I will buy and read the book. In the meantime, see this excerpt from the book in Tuesday's Salon. Note: While anyone could gather from the Salon excerpt alone that Cohan is a fine researcher, investigator and storyteller--I already know he is, having read his previous book on Goldman Sachs--I'll read the whole book before spouting off on it. Except it's not premature to comment on the book's sensational full title, i.e., with the subtitle ending in "the Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Universities". It's ambitious; that's fine. But it panders a bit, too, even if the book supports it. In the meantime, let's just ask that Scribner be less trite and spastic when it shills books.
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Posted by JD Hull at 02:53 PM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2014
Ontario trial judge: "Paper must vanish from this Court..."
So says Canadian Justice David M. Brown in a case administration decision penned on April 5 in Bank of Montreal v Faibish, 2014 ONSC 2178 (CanLII). The always-excellent SLAW, Canada's online legal magazine, just reported this. Excerpt from Justice Brown's decision, triggered in part by "profound frustration":
I know there are judges available who are chomping at the bit to conduct more e-trials. Paper must vanish from this Court and, frankly, the judiciary cannot let the legal profession or our court service provider hold us back. Accordingly, I order that the six-week trial of the Loretta and Brome Actions be conducted as electronic trials. More than enough time exists before the October 6 start date to organize the trial materials electronically. I order counsel to provide me with a formal e-trial plan at the June 26, 2014 case conference.
Posted by JD Hull at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2014
Think you can prepare and skillfully interview anyone? Then try Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel sometime.
Think you can skillfully interview anyone? I do. I take pride in dragging out facts, doing cross and direct, taking depositions, putting people at ease and, in general, making contact with people and getting them to open up. I'm good at it, others tell me. And then this morning I read The New Republic's recent interview with Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago congressman and Obama's colorful ex-chief of staff. This was that rare you-cannot-prepare-for-everything interview. TNR reporter Issac Chotiner was a very good sport--few journalists or lawyers could have done better. Me? Well, I like Mayor Emanuel. But I would have likely lost my temper at a couple of junctures. Strike that. Not likely. For sure. It's an interesting if contentious conversation.
Washington Post
Posted by JD Hull at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2014
Cross-Culture: Canada, the next global player.
"Deferential yet stoic" Canada is poised for a bigger global role, says Cross-Culture in its new post, "The Quiet Colossus". One of the best articles at Cross-Culture yet. Note in particular the points on Canadian-Russian partnerings in the Arctic region. Excerpt:
Canada, multilingual and multicultural, with favourable demographics and substantial economic freedom, is destined to exercise far greater influence amid the great powers than she hitherto has chosen to do: laid back and universally popular (who hates Canadians?), protected on either side by two great oceans and with access to a slowly-warming third, and with a friendly neighbour to the south, Canada can choose her friends and partners with little fear of being rebuffed.
No two countries in the Arctic region share so much in common as Canada and Russia. A map of the Arctic Ocean with the North Pole at its centre shows that the ocean is virtually closed by the coastal areas of Russia, Canada and Greenland. By far the largest Arctic nations, Canada and Russia – neighbours across the North Pole – bear a shared responsibility for the state of affairs in the region and must see each other as strategic partners.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)