Boilerplate language in contracts tends to stick around long after its origins and purpose have been forgotten. Usually there are no serious repercussions, but sometimes it can cause unexpected problems. Such was the case with the obscure pari passu clause in cross-border sovereign debt contracts, until a novel judicial interpretation rattled international finance by forcing a defaulting sovereign—for one of the first times in the market’s centuries-long history—to repay its foreign creditors. Though neither party wanted this outcome, the vast majority of contracts subsequently issued demonstrate virtually no attempt to clarify the imprecise language of the clause. Using this case as a launching pad to explore the broader issue of the “stickiness” of contract boilerplate, Mitu Gulati and Robert E. Scott have sifted through more than one thousand sovereign debt contracts and interviewed hundreds of practitioners to show that the problem actually lies in the nature of the modern corporate law firm. The financial pressure on large firms to maintain a high volume of transactions contributes to an array of problems that deter innovation. With the near certainty of massive sovereign debt restructuring in Europe, The Three and a Half Minute Transaction speaks to critical issues facing the industry and has broader implications for contract design that will ensure it remains relevant to our understanding of legal practice long after the debt crisis has subsided.

The Three and a Half Minute Transaction: Boilerplate and the Limits of Contract Design (Chicago Series in Law and Society)

Scott, Robert E.

Gulati, Mitu

Foreign & International Law

University of Chicago Press

The Limits of Leviathan: Contract Theory and the Enforcement of International Law

Much of international law, like much of contract, is enforced not by independent sanctions but rather through cooperative interaction among the parties, with repeat dealings, reputation, and a preference for reciprocity doing most of the enforcement work. Originally published in 2006, The Limits of Leviathan identifies areas in international law where formal enforcement provides the most promising means of promoting cooperation and where it does not. In particular, it looks at the International Criminal Court, the rules for world trade, efforts to enlist domestic courts to enforce orders of the International Court of Justice, domestic judicial enforcement of the Geneva Convention, the domain of international commercial agreements, and the question of odious debt incurred by sovereigns. This book explains how international law, like contract, depends largely on the willingness of responsible parties to make commitments.

Stephan, Paul B.

Cambridge University Press

Contract law and theory: Selected provisions: restatement of contracts and uniform commercial code

LexisNexis

Description This highly theoretical exploration of contract law has very practical implications. By focusing initially on theory, students develop a framework for analyzing and predicting the outcome of contract disputes. Working from that framework, students gain an understanding of the lawyer's counseling and drafting functions so as to avoid future disputes.

Contract Law and Theory

Business

Lexis Nexis/Matthew Bender

Book by Scott, Robert E., Kurtz, Sheldon F., King, Donald B.

Sales

KING

Casenotes Pub Co

Toxic Tort Law & Science Manual

Delany, John J.

Governo, David M.

Willman, R. Kenneth

Mealey Publications, Inc.

This book, originally published in 1994, explores the effects of federal policies on the US auto industry in the 1970s and 80s which were designed to save jobs and help the domestic industry become more competitive. The author develops a new model based on modern oliopoly theory to estimate the effects of the voluntary Restraint Agreements (which limited Japanese imports) on the US auto market. The results demonstrate that VRAs caused price increases which adversely affected the comptitiveness of US producers. On the eve of a new Trump administration, and the likelihood of new restrictions on imports to boost US manufacturing, this book has particular enduring relevance.   

Short Sighted Solutions: Trade and Energy Policies for the US Auto Industry (Routledge Library Editions: The Automobile Industry)

Business & Money

Economics

Routledge

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Books by Scott, Robert E.