Join the Robbins Collection Research Center and the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies on Tuesday, February 25th, from 6-7:30pm in room 105 in the Berkeley Law […]
Upcoming: 2025 Robbins Lecture in Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity
Upcoming Workshop in Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity: Sympotic Rabbis, Truth, and the Glorious Uncertainty of Law
As part of the Robbins Collection Research Center’s annual collaboration with the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies, Christine Hayes will facilitate a workshop on Wednesday, February […]
Raphaël Eckert continues to develop medieval law database during return visit to Robbins
As a recurrent visitor to the Robbins Collection Research Center over the past twenty years, Raphaël Eckert knows the environment that the Center provides for conducting medieval legal research. Calling […]
2025 Art, Finance, and Law Symposium at SFMOMA – May 8, 2025 | Registration Open Now!
This interdisciplinary symposium is intended for professionals and enthusiasts interested in cutting-edge research at the intersection of art, law, finance, technology, and culture. Prominent speakers from academia, government, and practice […]
BCLB Art, Law, and Finance Project: Book Talk With Author Orlando Whitfield
BCLB Art, Law, and Finance Project is thrilled to host a conversation between Berkeley Law Professor Sonia K. Katyal and author Orlando Whitfield on his new book “All That Glitters,” […]
PAC’s Gus Patel-Tupper on the Staggering Cost to Collect Fees, Fines, and Restitution in Washington
Washington State Budget & Policy Center, 01/24/2025
Formalism and Functionalism in California’s Unconscionability Doctrine: An Analysis of Fuentes v. Empire Nissan, Inc.
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP SERIES (July 2024) | By David Beglin, J.D., Berkeley Law, Class of ‘24
In Fuentes v. Empire Nissan, Inc., a case currently pending in the California Supreme Court, the underlying appellate court decision ruled that an employment arbitration agreement was not unconscionable and was enforceable, despite significant abuses in how the contract was formed. Finding a contract unenforceable under the unconscionability doctrine requires a showing of both unconscionability in how a contract was formed (“procedural unconscionability”) and in the terms of the agreement itself (“substantive unconscionability”). Taking a formalistic approach, the Fuentes court views procedural and substantive unconscionability as conceptually distinct inquiries. But California courts must analyze unconscionability on a sliding scale, allowing significant procedural unfairness to compensate for less significant substantive unfairness, and vice versa. This sliding-scale aspect of California’s unconscionability jurisprudence is functional and recognizes that the unconscionability analysis must be holistic. This Note argues that the Court should reject the Fuentes court’s formalism and embrace the sliding-scale approach’s functionalism.
The Art Belongs to the Artists
UNC Law professors Deborah M. Weissman, and Louis A. Perez dissect the US government’s refusal to grant Guantánamo Bay detainees ownership of the art they created during their detention, framing the confiscation of these works as a form of cultural plunder.
Canvas, Issue 16
This month, we’re buzzing with excitement as we bring you the latest scoop on the legal dramas of art market heavyweights, evolving trends in art investment, the rise of AI-generated art, AI fashion stepping into the prêt-à-porter spotlight, artists influencing cultural change, and more.
Samuelson Clinic Fall 2024 Newsletter
Samuelson Clinic, 12/21/23