Mediation typically occurs at some stage of the adversarial process. That process involves parties who are focused on the strengths of their respective positions/cases, and who are committed to convincing a decision maker that the other side should be defeated. The challenge for mediation is that these same parties are suddenly asked to shift gears, […]
Now that it looks like at least four of the Republican Presidential candidates claim a Texas connection – Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Rick Perry – a look back at where the Texas connection to the White House began (hint: it wasn’t LBJ) is well-timed. http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/A-look-back-at-presidential-candidates-from-Texas-6106289.php “The Big Rich,” by Texan and author […]
On March 20, 2015, after considering more than 1.5 million comments, the BLM released its much anticipated fracking rule for oil and gas wells on Federal and Indian lands. More than 90 percent of all wells, including those on Federal and Indian property, are hydraulically fractured by injecting water, sand and chemicals under high pressure […]
Now that Spring Training is in full swing, let’s talk some baseball! Okay, not that kind of baseball, but another topic in our series on arbitration – “baseball arbitration.” Some parties are reluctant to submit disputes to arbitration because they worry about “split the difference” awards. Arbitrators are generally selected, directly or indirectly, and paid […]
On March 17, 2015, Secretary Jewell presented what was billed as a “major speech” to describe her vision of a “balanced prosperous energy future” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Directly tying the U.S. “energy transformation” to the recovered U.S. economy, she noted, “The energy revolution we experienced in the past six years […]
Colorado employers need to be more mindful than ever with regard to timely payment of wages. A new Wage Protection Act (“Act”) has expanded wage claims under the Colorado Wage Claim Act by broadening remedies, creating an administrative resolution procedure, and increasing penalties and fines for noncompliance. Broader Rights: While previously only former employees had […]
On January 27, 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, the science arm of the U.S. Department of the Interior, published a scientific investigative report, supported by a separate data series, consisting of hydraulic fracturing and fracturing treatment records from 1947-2010. Over 1 million fracked wells and 1.8 million fracking treatment records were reviewed by the agency. […]
The Colorado Supreme Court has now determined the standard for quantifying water rights that have already changed from one use to another in a prior case. This is an issue that has been very unclear for some time, and many water users have been uncertain about how this issue would be addressed, until now. In […]
The Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force submitted its Final Report on February 27, 2015 making nine recommendations to the Governor that received two-thirds of the vote of the Task Force members as required by Executive Order 2014-005 to constitute recommendations of the Task Force. 1. Collaboration of local governments, the COGCC and Operators relative […]
Arbitration Series – Part 3 of 3: When drafting an arbitration provision, careful attention should be given to the language describing the scope of disputes to be arbitrated. Unless the parties intend to arbitrate all disputes that may touch on or collaterally relate to the contract, the arbitration clause should contain express language specifically identifying […]