Unsettling Questions Regarding Lawyer Civil Claim Settlement Authority

While often presumed or declared to be quite settled, many of the guidelines on lawyer civil claim settlement authority are unsettled, leaving unresolved questions for lawyers, clients, and the courts. The upcoming publication and general circulation by the ALI of The Law Governing Lawyers will help, as may any attention directed toward settlements by the ABA Ethics 2000 Commission, now at work considering possible alterations of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Recent experience suggests that state and federal court rulings are not likely to settle much of the present uncertainty. Our review of the prevailing lawyer civil settlement guidelines suggests the need for certain new initiatives. First, the guidelines should predominantly originate in state supreme courts. At the very least, their general parameters should usually appear in written rules on the professional conduct of lawyers. For now, federal courts should defer to these state rules unless there are very significant federal interests. Second, as a starting point, state courts should carefully consider the ALI pronouncements in The Law Governing Lawyers. Lawyers generally are not like other agents nor are lawyer retainer and subsequent legal service agreements generally like other contracts. Unlike most other agents, the conduct of lawyers with third persons on behalf of clients is governed not only by the directives of clients, but also by mandatory professional conduct standards. Furthermore, unlike most other contracts, lawyer-client legal service agreements are constrained by public policies found in these same standards, including obligations on information disclosure (from lawyer to client) and on confidentiality (by the lawyer). Thus, lawyers should keep clients informed of settlement talks even if the relevant legal services agreement does not expressly indicate such an obligation. Moreover, lawyers should not reveal the nature of their delegated authority to the adversaries of their clients even when these adversaries have good reason to know. In employing the ALI pronouncements, sensitivity to terminology will be necessary. Distinctions between delegated and undelegated authority, as well as between the varying forms of both delegated and undelegated authority should be set forth. These distinctions need not appear in written laws, but rather may be recognized in accompanying commentaries (which hopefully will dispel any notions that clients always make the civil claim settlement "decisions"). Third, in civil claim settlement settings involving the interests of two or more American governments, issues of lawyer civil claim settlement authority should normally be resolved with the lawyer professional conduct laws of the state where the relevant civil claim is pending. Otherwise, the choice of law standards in Model Rule 8.5(b) should resolve this issue. Fourth, when the general written rule (or code) provisions on lawyer conduct are supplemented (and, at times, overridden), the general laws should cross-reference, to the extent feasible, the special laws so there can be appropriate integration of all applicable standards

The Authority of Illinois Lawyers to Settle Their Clients' Civil Claims: On Principles Not Quite Settled

The Illinois laws guiding lawyer civil claim settlement authority are not well settled and should be reexamined to provide lawyers with clear standards when they agree to a settlement on behalf of their clients. A comprehensive rule making initiative pursued by the Illinois Supreme Court is the best vehicle to settle the principles of lawyer conduct. In undertaking such an initiative, the Illinois Supreme Court should clarify issues of actual authority, apparent authority, burdens of proof, and open court presumptions. Furthermore, the Illinois Supreme Court should address other laws directly impacting upon, but unrelated to, lawyer settlement authority, including laws regarding choice of law, separation of powers, required writings, compelled attendance and judicial enforcement issues. The principles governing civil claim settlements will become clear and settled only after such a comprehensive revision is complete

The Substantive Elements in the New Special Pleading Laws

Recently there have emerged new special pleading standards applicable to discrete substantive law claims or to certain remedial requests. These norms often raise troubling procedure/substance questions in separation of powers and choice of law settings. The questions are especially difficult where the standards are hard to locate; to distinguish from nonpleading laws; and to differentiate by rationale(s). In the separation of powers setting, these questions must be approached only after undertaking a distinct and detailed analysis of each relevant government's allocation of lawmaking duties. American governments differ significantly in these allocations. In the choice of law setting, these questions can arise in circumstances involving Erie, reverse-Erie and choice of state law. The procedure/substance issues here must be approached only after undertaking a close look at functions, not labels; at the possibility of false conflicts; and without a parochial view as to the possible location or designation of the special pleading norms of other interested governments

Quantifying error introduced by iterative closest point image registration

Objectives: The aim of this paper was to quantify the analysis error introduced by iterative closest point (ICP) image registration. We also investigated whether a subsequent subtraction process can reduce process error. Methods: We tested metrology and two 3D inspection software using calibration standards at 0.39 μm, and 2.64 μm and mathematically perfect defects (softgauges) at 2 and 20 μm, on free form surfaces of increasing complexity and area, both with and without registration. Errors were calculated in percentage relative to the size of the defect being measured. Data were analysed in GraphPad Prism 9, normal and two-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey's was applied. Significance was inferred at p &lt; 0.05. Results: Using ICP registration introduced errors from 0 % to 15.63 % of the defect size depending on the surface complexity and size of the defect. Significant differences were observed in analysis measurements between metrology and 3D inspection software and within different 3D inspection software, however, one did not show clear superiority over another. Even in the absence of registration, defects at 0.39 μm, and 2.64 μm produced substantial measurement error (13.39–77.50 % of defect size) when using 3D inspection software. Adding an additional data subtraction process reduced registration error to negligible levels (&lt;1 % independent of surface complexity or area). Conclusions: Commercial 3D inspection software introduces error during direct measurements below 3 μm. When using an ICP registration, errors over 15 % of the defect size can be introduced regardless of the accuracy of adjacent registration surfaces. Analysis output between software are not consistently repeatable or comparable and do not utilise ISO standards. Subtracting the datasets and analysing the residual difference reduced error to negligible levels. Clinical significance: This paper quantifies the significant errors and inconsistencies introduced during the registration process even when 3D datasets are true and precise. This may impact on research diagnostics and clinical performance. An additional data processing step of scan subtraction can reduce this error but increases computational complexity.</p

An in-situ pilot study to investigate the native clinical resistance of enamel to erosion

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the differences in susceptibility of the surface of native and polished enamel to dietary erosion using an in-situ model.METHODS: Thirty healthy volunteers (n = 10 per group) wore mandibular appliances containing 2 native and 2 polished enamel samples for 30 min after which, the samples were exposed to either an ex-vivo or in-vivo immersion in orange juice for 5, 10 or 15 min and the cycle repeated twice with an hour's interval between them. Samples were scanned with a non-contacting laser profilometer and surface roughness was extracted from the data, together with step height and microhardness change on the polished enamel samples.RESULTS: All volunteers completed the study. For native enamel there were no statistical difference between baseline roughness values versus post erosion. Polished enamel significantly increased mean (SD) Sa roughness from baseline for each group resulting in roughness change of 0.04 (0.03), 0.06 (0.04), 0.04 (0.03), 0.06 (0.03), 0.08 (0.05) and 0.09 (0.05) μm respectively. With statistical differences between roughness change 45 min in-vivo versus 45 min ex-vivo (p &lt; 0.05). Microhardness significantly decreased for each polished group, with statistical differences in hardness change between 30 min in-vivo versus 30 min ex-vivo (p &lt; 0.05), 45 min in-vivo versus 30 min ex-vivo (p &lt; 0.01), 45 min in-vivo versus 45 min ex-vivo (p &lt; 0.01).CONCLUSIONS: The native resistance to erosion provided clinically is a combination of the ultrastructure of outer enamel, protection from the salivary pellicle and the overall effects of the oral environment. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT03178968.CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that outer enamel is innately more resistant to erosion which is clinically relevant as once there has been structural breakdown at this level the effects of erosive wear will be accelerated.</p

Observational study investigating tooth extraction and the shortened dental arch approach

The shortened dental arch (SDA ) provides a cost‐effective dentition, considering the population is ageing and retaining teeth for longer. The aims were to observe the reasons and sites of tooth extraction and assess the functional dentition over 15 years in dental practice. Subjects were recruited who required permanent tooth extractions between 2000 and 2015. The reasons for extractions were chosen from twelve extraction codes. Data were also collected for demographics, tooth position, root treated teeth and functional pairs remaining. Patient‐centred factors on reasons for tooth extraction and comments on chewing ability and aesthetics following extractions were recorded. Nine hundred and fifty‐one teeth were extracted in 900 patients. The mean age was 60 years (SD 20, SE 7, 95% CI 46, 74). Reasons for extraction were periodontal disease (n = 361, 38%), periapical infection (n = 288, 34%) or tooth and tooth‐root fractures (15%). Extractions included 201 (21%) second molars, 179 (19%) first molars, 152 (16%) second premolars, 95 (10%) first incisors, 86 (9%) second incisors, 76 (8%) canines and 67 (7%) first premolars. Following extractions, median functional pairs were 12, interquartile range (IQR ) 19–7. Individuals with ≥10 functional pairs including anterior teeth (60%, n = 571) had no complaints with chewing ability or aesthetics. They did not require additional prostheses. Periodontal disease and periapical infection were the main causes for the extraction. First and second molars followed by second premolars were the most commonly extracted teeth. This study supports the SDA in creating a cost effective, functional dentition in an aging population, provided remaining teeth and restorations are preserved/maintained, oral health is promoted, and anterior aesthetic tooth replacement is ensured

De novo Assembly and Analysis of the Chilean Pencil Catfish Trichomycterus areolatus Transcriptome

Trichomycterus areolatus is an endemic species of pencil catfish that inhabits the riffles and rapids of many freshwater ecosystems of Chile. Despite its unique adaptation to Chile’s high gradient watersheds and therefore potential application in the investigation of ecosystem integrity and environmental contamination, relatively little is known regarding the molecular biology of this environmental sentinel. Here, we detail the assembly of the Trichomycterus areolatus transcriptome, a molecular resource for the study of this organism and its molecular response to the environment. RNA-Seq reads were obtained by next-generation sequencing with an Illumina® platform and processed using PRINSEQ. The transcriptome assembly was performed using TRINITY assembler. Transcriptome validation was performed by functional characterization with KOG, KEGG, and GO analyses. Additionally, differential expression analysis highlights sex-specific expression patterns, and a list of endocrine and oxidative stress related transcripts are included

Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure moral distress in community pharmacists

The Author(s) 2016. . This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Jayne L. Astbury, and Cathal T. Gallagher, 'Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure moral distress in community pharmacists', International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy (2017) Vol 39(1): 156-164, first published online on 22 December 2016, the version of record is available on line via doi: 10.1007/s11096-016-0413-3 Funding for this work was provided by Pharmacy Research UK (PRUK).Background Pharmacists work within a highly-regulated occupational sphere, and are bound by strict legal frameworks and codes of professional conduct. This regulatory environment creates the potential for moral distress to occur due to the limitations it places on acting in congruence with moral judgements. Very little research regarding this phenomenon has been undertaken in pharmacy: thus, prominent research gaps have arisen for the development of a robust tool to measure and quantify moral distress experienced in the profession. Objective The aim of this study was to develop an instrument to measure moral distress in community pharmacists. Setting Community pharmacies in the United Kingdom. Method This study adopted a three-phase exploratory sequential mixed-method design. Three semi-structured focus groups were then conducted to allow pharmacists to identify and explore scenarios that cause moral distress. Each of the identified scenarios were developed into a statement, which was paired with twin seven-point Likert scales to measure the frequency and intensity of the distress, respectively. Content validity, reliability, and construct validity were all tested, and the questionnaire was refined. Main outcome measure The successful development of the valid instrument for use in the United Kingdom. Results This research has led to the development of a valid and reliable instrument to measure moral distress in community pharmacists in the UK. The questionnaire has already been distributed to a large sample of community pharmacists. Conclusion Results from this distribution will be used to inform the formulation of coping strategies for dealing with moral distress.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Length-Independent Charge Transport in Chimeric Molecular Wires

Advanced molecular electronic components remain vital for the next generation of miniaturized integrated circuits. Thus, much research effort has been devoted to the discovery of lossless molecular wires, for which the charge transport rate or conductivity is not attenuated with length in the tunneling regime. Herein, we report the synthesis and electrochemical interrogation of DNA-like molecular wires. We determine that the rate of electron transfer through these constructs is independent of their length and propose a plausible mechanism to explain our findings. The reported approach holds relevance for the development of high-performance molecular electronic components and the fundamental study of charge transport phenomena in organic semiconductors

Spirit, mind and body: the archaeology of monastic healing

Archaeology and material culture are used in this chapter to consider how monastic experience responded to illness, ageing and disability. The approach taken is influenced by the material study of religion, which interrogates how bodies and things engage to construct the sensory experience of religion, and by practice-based approaches in archaeology, which examine the active role of space and material culture in shaping religious agency and embodiment. The archaeology of monastic healing focuses on the full spectrum of healing technologies, from managing the body in order to prevent illness, through to the treatment of the sick and preparation of the corpse for burial