Objections to the rational actor model in law and economics are almost as old as the field
itself. Early skeptics about the economic analysis of law were quick to marshal arguments …

The authors first explain the various ways the rationality assumption is used in legal
scholarship and why it leads to unsatisfying policy prescriptions. They then systematically …

The quality of the judicial system depends upon the quality of decisions that judges make.
Even the most talented and dedicated judges surely commit occasional mistakes, but the …

Plea-bargaining literature predicts that parties strike plea bargains in the shadow of
expected trial outcomes. In other words, parties forecast the expected sentence after trial …

In an ideal world, contracts would explicitly allocate rights and responsibilities between
contracting parties for all possible contingencies that might arise over the life of the contract …

EMPIRICALLY EVALUATING CLAIMS ABOUT INVESTMENT TREATY ARBITRATION*
Page 1 EMPIRICALLY EVALUATING CLAIMS ABOUT INVESTMENT TREATY …

It is often said that US legal culture discourages apologies. 1 Defendants, defense counsel,
and insurers worry that statements of apology will be admissible at trial and will be …

IN The Problem of Social Cost, 1 Ronald Coase investigated the economic effects of liability
rules for externalities when the affected parties can bargain with each other. More …

In colonial America, criminal justice was the business of laymen, not lawyers. Lay constables
arrested suspects, victims prosecuted their own cases, and defendants defended …

Every litigant gambles. When they choose to file suit, take discovery, fie motions, decline
settlement offers, and appeal, they take chances. But when do litigants gamble and when do …