With thanks for Peter Reilly (Texas A&M) for compiling this twice a year, listed below are our colleagues’ current scholarship projects:Gilat Juli Bachar (Temple Law)Against Overbroad Nondisclosures, 100 S. Cal. L. Rev. _ (forthcoming 2026/7):

  • This paper addresses the overlooked problem of overbroad settlement non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Although confidentiality is regarded as a cornerstone of dispute resolution, sweeping NDAs can undermine one of settlement’s central objectives—helping parties achieve meaningful closure—by preventing individuals from discussing emotionally-taxing disputes even with therapists, clergy, or immediate family members. Drawing on doctrinal analysis and research in psychology, the paper demonstrates how such clauses

…
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As many of you know via the list serv, Carrie Menkel-Meadow’s latest ADR text is out, Advanced Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution, and available for purchase.  Here’s are the key features of this book as listed on the book’s webpage:

  • Reviews the latest issues in multi-party, multi-issue international disputes
  • Outlines adjudication, arbitration, mediation, negotiation and various hybridized processes
  • Analyses critiques of alternative forms of dispute resolution as well as jurisprudential theories
  • Explores innovations in online dispute resolution, including the challenges and opportunities which arise from the use of artificial intelligence
  • Illustrates how innovative processes of facilitation and consensus building can

…
Continue Reading Advanced Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution by Carrie Menkel-Meadow

I learned so much from reading. Which sparks ideas. Try it. That’s really the whole thesis, and I could stop right there, but the old ad line deserves better than a one-sentence drive-by. Reading Is Fundamental was a public service campaign decades before anyone worried about attention spans and doom-scrolling, and it turns out the slogan undersold itself. Reading isn’t just fundamental to literacy. It’s fundamental to how professionals think, argue, negotiate, and eventually distinguish themselves from everyone else doing the same job the same way.

Books in particular do something a headline or a hot take cannot. A good…
Continue Reading Reading Is Fundamental, and Nobody Ever Told You Why It Still Matters

Testamentary capacity in Arizona is judged by the testator’s state of mind at one specific moment: the moment of signing. But what happens when the person who signed it had already been diagnosed with moderate dementia more than a year earlier? Can a court look at how someone was declining in the months before and after they signed, or is it limited to what happened precisely on signing day itself?
In a published opinion issued on July 29, 2026, the Arizona Court of Appeals answered that question and, in the process, reversed a trial court that had admitted a contested…
Continue Reading Testamentary Capacity in Arizona: When Is a Will Signed After a Dementia Diagnosis Still Valid?

Recently, there was a large medical malpractice verdict in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a city that has seen more than its share of large verdicts. This one was in the amount of $108,000,000. While that is a lot of money, please always remember that the jury’s verdict is only the first step in a long process for the victim before any money actually changes hands. The defendants always file post-trial motions asking the court to order a retrial or to at least reduce the amount of the jury’s award. If those motions fail, the defendants always appeal the judgment. The injured victim…
Continue Reading Analysis of Another Recent Large Malpractice Verdict

How to Vacate a Confession of Judgment in New York

If you signed a merchant cash advance agreement, there’s a good chance you also signed a confession of judgment (COJ) without fully understanding its implications. When a funder files that COJ and a judgment gets entered against you, it can feel final and permanent. However, the reality is that judgments entered by confession are not unchallengeable and can often be vacated with proper legal strategy. Understanding your options could mean the difference between losing your business assets and getting a fresh start.
What is a Confession of Judgment?
A confession…
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Are you putting the finishing touches on your syllabi for the fall?  If you’re teaching mediation, interviewing, counseling, and negotiation, an ADR survey course, or a related subject, you might consider including a fun new teaching resource in your course.What Happened? A Mediation Story Featuring RPS Coach is a plausible story that students can read in about an hour.  As a software implementation goes seriously awry, two companies, their executives, their lawyers, and a mediator navigate legal uncertainty, business realities, organizational pressures, and strained relationships while trying to resolve a commercial dispute in 2025.  Students meet the principal characters…
Continue Reading Teaching Mediation This Fall?  Consider Starting with a Story

Best MCA Lawyer: Merchant Cash Advance Defense Attorneys

If daily ACH debits are draining your business account, a confession of judgment has been filed against you, or your bank account has been frozen by an MCA funder, you’re likely searching for the ‘best MCA lawyer’ and trying to figure out who can actually help, not just who has the best marketing. Merchant cash advance disputes are a narrow, fast-moving area of law. Picking the right attorney can be the difference between losing your business to a funder’s collection tactics and getting back to running it. This page covers what the…
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Some IRS debt can be discharged in Chapter 13, but not all IRS obligations qualify. Whether IRS debt can be discharged depends on the facts of the case, the type of liability involved, and several timing rules.

However, Chapter 13 bankruptcy may still help even when IRS debt is not dischargeable.

Stone Rose Law helps Arizona debtors review IRS debt, Chapter 13 options, tax liens, and discharge issues. 

Call Stone Rose Law or use our online contact form for a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney.

How Chapter 13 Treats IRS Debt

Chapter 13 allows an individual debtor with regular…
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Can You Sue Your MCA Funder for Fraud?

Most business owners who get tangled up with a merchant cash advance think of themselves as the defendant, reacting to a lawsuit, a frozen account, or a confession of judgment. But funders don’t always play by the rules, and when they break those rules, the merchant isn’t limited to playing defense. In many cases, the merchant is the one with the stronger claim. If your funder misrepresented terms, double-debited your account, or violated state lending laws, you may have the ability to sue, not just defend.
What Counts as MCA Fraud
Fraud…
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Insolvency and bankruptcy are related, but they are not the same thing. Insolvency describes a financial state. Bankruptcy is a legal process.

A person or business may be insolvent when they cannot pay debts as they come due or when their liabilities exceed their assets. Bankruptcy is the court process that may allow a debtor to address debt through liquidation, repayment, restructuring, reorganization, or discharge.

Stone Rose Law helps Arizona individuals and businesses understand debt-relief options before financial pressure becomes harder to manage. 

Call Stone Rose Law or use our online contact form for a free consultation with a bankruptcy…
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Local SEO used to reward the firm that said its city most often. AI-powered search works differently: it commits to naming one or two attorneys, which means it needs a reason to believe you practice where you say you do. That reason comes from your bar profile, your reviews, your published results, and your listings agreeing with each other. This post explains what AI-verified local presence actually requires, why fifteen near-identical city pages no longer work, and how to build the evidence using what your firm already has.
The post AI-Verified Local Presence: What “Local” Actually Means in the Age …
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Individuals can technically file bankruptcy without a lawyer, or pro se. However, filing bankruptcy without a lawyer is rarely a good idea. 

Bankruptcy has strict requirements. A single mistake can lead to dismissal, lost assets, and long-term financial consequences.

Stone Rose Law helps Arizona debtors understand their bankruptcy options before they file. 

If you are considering Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, call Stone Rose Law or use our online contact form to schedule a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney.

What Does Pro Se Bankruptcy Mean?

Pro se bankruptcy means a debtor files a bankruptcy petition without a lawyer. Individuals…
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In today’s evolving workplace, clarity and consistency are essential for building strong employer-employee relationships. One of the most effective tools for achieving this is a well-drafted employment agreement. Far from being just a formality, an employment agreement plays an important role in protecting businesses, setting expectations, and fostering long-term success.
What is an Employment Agreement?
Arizona is an at-will state, meaning an employer can fire an employee, and an employee can quit, at any time for any reason or no reason at all, provided the action is not illegal.  An employment agreement is a formal contract between an employer and…
Continue Reading Employment Agreement Provisions

Estate Planning Update
July 2026

  • 2026 Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: remains $19,000 per donor, per donee.
  • 2026 Gift and Estate Tax Exemption: increased to $15,000,000 per person this year (an increase of $110,000 per individual or $220,000 for a married couple) and made permanent.
  • Marital Deduction for Transfers to U.S. Spouse: remains unlimited.
  • 2026 Generation Skipping Tax Exemption: increased to $15,000,000 per person.
  • Top rate for Federal Estate, Gift and Generation Skipping Taxes: 40%.
  • National Topics:
    a. The permanent increase in the estate and lifetime gift tax exemption to an inflation-indexed $15,000,000 per person beginning January 1, 2026 caused two

    • …
    Continue Reading July 2026 Estate Planning Update

    AI has changed how clients find attorneys, but a lot of the advice out there is built on assumptions, not evidence. This post covers five common misconceptions about AI-powered legal marketing and the practical fixes that actually move the needle.
    The post Five Things Attorneys Get Wrong About AI-Powered Legal Marketing (And How to Fix Them) appeared first on LawLytics.
    Continue Reading Five Things Attorneys Get Wrong About AI-Powered Legal Marketing (And How to Fix Them)