Winter 2011

Featured Articles

The Curious Case of the Arbitrators Who Did Not Arbitrate
By Joseph R. Marconi

For companies and attorneys who view arbitration as the solution to the costs and time expenditure of litigation, the Illinois Appellate Court puts you on notice that mandatory arbitration clauses are only effectual if the designated arbitrators agree to accept the matter when referred.  In other words, a party is not obligated to arbitrate a claim even if it is covered by the arbitration clause if the designated arbitrators are unable or unwilling to engage the matter.  Picking an unwilling or incapable arbitrator while failing to provide for the arbitrator’s unavailability can render the arbitration clause null and void.

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Overdrafting Contractual Arbitration Clauses
By Garrett L. Boehm, Jr.

Sometimes the simple and straightforward can go awry. Most will agree that the purpose of contracts is to clearly delineate the extent and scope of the contracting parties' agreement. Typically that agreement will involve a description of each party's duties, responsibilities, and acts to be performed. Of course, every now and then, circumstances are such that a party cannot adhere to terms of the agreement. So, it is also very common for contracts to explicitly state how disputes will be resolved.  One increasingly popular form of dispute resolution is arbitration.

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Bankers Beware of the FDIC
By Joseph R. Marconi & Justin H. Volmert

While some individuals and businesses have begun to climb their way out of the recent financial crisis, many others continue to feel its effects.  For the directors and officers of failed banks, the crisis may be just beginning.  After having taken over hundreds of failed banks in the past three years, the FDIC now appears to be preparing lawsuits against many of the former directors and officers of those banks in an attempt to recoup a portion of its losses.

For the full article click here.

Employer Liability When Withdrawing from a Pension Plan
By Justin H. Volmert

The 1974 enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), the 1980 enactment of the Multi-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act (“MPPAA”), and other related laws, introduced sweeping changes to employer responsibility for employee pension plans upon the employer’s withdrawal from the plan. 

For the full article click here.

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