2011 Kansas Law Review Symposium
Perspectives on the Current State of Arbitration Law
November 11, 2011
Green Hall, University of Kansas
1535 W. 15th Street, Lawrence, Kansas 66045
Map | Arbitration Symposium CLE Materials
Event Agenda
9:00 - 9:05 Introduction and Welcome
9:05 - 9:50 Professor Kristen Blankley - Taming the Wild West of Arbitration Ethics
An examination of the criminal law that reins in attorney behavior in the litigation forum, including laws criminalizing perjury and tampering with witnesses and documents, and the inconsistency with which these statutes apply to the arbitral forum and why the criminal law should be amended to apply equally to litigation and binding arbitration.
9:50 - 10:00 Break
10:00 - 10:45 Professor Maureen Weston - The Future (or Death) of Class Arbitration after Concepcion
A review of how the recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion impacts class action arbitration, viability of state unconscionability law, and preemption of state public policies.
10:45 - 11:30 Professor David Horton - The Non-Arbitrability Doctrine and Inalienability
An analysis of the normative foundations of the non-arbitrability doctrine (which exempts claims from the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act if a plaintiff cannot vindicate her rights in arbitration), and an argument that the rule should apply with special force to certain statutes.
11:30 - 1:00 Lunch Break
1:00 - 1:45 Professor Richard Reuben - What If? FAA Jurisprudence Under a Truly Conservative Court
A look at the Supreme Court as an activist court in arbitration jurisprudence and a "redeciding" of several of those key cases according to true judicial conservatism.
1:45 - 2:30 Professor Jeffrey Stempel - Crazy, Stupid Love: Arbitral Infatuation in Derogation of Sound and Consistent Jurisprudence
An examination of the Supreme Court's modern construction of the Federal Arbitration Act as a matter of statutory interpretation jurisprudence and judicial role. The Court has largely failed to follow the Justices' own self-professed rules and beliefs regarding sound jurisprudence, expanded the scope of the FAA in ways inconsistent with the judicial role, and diminished respect for the court throughout wide segments of the legal profession and the public.
2:30 - 2:40 Break
2:40 - 3:30 Professor Thomas Stipanowich - Should We Incorporate Due Process Standards for Arbitration of Consumer and Employment Disputes in the FAA? Consideration of the prospective benefits, costs and limitations of legislated due process guidelines for arbitration in consumer and employment disputes in light of current proposals to outlaw predispute arbitration agreements in various settings or implement the use of regulated arbitration.
Symposium Speakers
- Professor Kristen Blankley
Assistant Professor of Law
University of Nebraska College of Law - Professor David Horton
Associate Professor of Law
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles - Professor Richard Reuben
James Lewis Parks Professor of Law
University of Missouri School of Law - Professor Jeffrey Stempel
Doris S. & Theodore B. Lee Professor of Law
University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law - Professor Thomas Stipanowich
Academic Director, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution, and Professor of Law
Pepperdine University - Professor Maureen Weston
Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Law
Pepperdine University
Attendance is free and CLE Credit will be provided. Papers presented at the Symposium will be published in the Kansas Law Review vol. 60, issue 4 (Spring 2012).
RSVP is not required, but it would be appreciated so that a sufficient number of materials may be provided. CLE materials are available for download from this website, but if you would prefer a paper copy, please note that in your RSVP email. To RSVP, or for more information, please contact Marty Rice, Symposium Editor, at KansasLawReview@gmail.com.