Agenda
Room locations will be provided via email to participants prior to the event. If you have any further questions, please contact us.
Please note—Reading assignments for this program require the textbook Economic Analysis for Lawyers, Fourth Edition (2024). We will be sending hard copies of the textbook to all participants. To ensure you receive a copy, please provide us the best address for shipping by completing the attendance logistics form on the Program Portal.
In addition to a hardcopy, you will be able to access the textbook electronically. We will be providing instructions regarding the e-book via email.
Sunday, April 4
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Registration
4:00 – 5:00 pm
Class 1: The Economic Perspective
Reading Assignment:
Henry N. Butler, Joanna Shepherd, & James C. Cooper [hereinafter BSC], Chapter 1: The Economics Perspective, in Economic Analysis for Lawyers 3-33 (Carolina Academic Press, 4th ed. 2024).
Supplemental Video Assignments:
Todd Zywicki, What is Law and Economics? (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Donald J. Kochan, What are Opportunity Costs? (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Donald J. Kochan, Why Do Marginal Costs Matter? (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Donald J. Kochan, Evaluating Unintended Consequences (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
5:00 – 5:15 pm
Break
5:15 – 6:30 pm
Class 2: Incentives Matter
Reading Assignment:
Continuation of previous reading assignment
Supplemental Video Assignment:
The Honorable Douglas Ginsburg, Economic Insights for Everyday Problems (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Opening Reception and Dinner
(Registered guests welcome)
The History of the Law & Economics Center
Reading Assignment:
Henry G. Manne, An Intellectual History of the George Mason University School of Law, L. & Econ. Ctr. (1993).
Monday, April 5
6:30 – 7:30 am
Breakfast (on own at the hotel)
7:30 – 8:00 am
Walk from hotel to Antonin Scalia Law School
8:00 – 9:15 am
Class 3: Supply, Demand, and Mutually-Beneficial Exchange
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 2: Markets and the Price System (35-75).
Case Discussion:
Houseman v. Dare, 405 N.J. Super. 538 (2009): 203-207.
Supplemental Video Assignments: Donald J. Kochan, What are Opportunity Costs? (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Donald J. Kochan, Why Do Marginal Costs Matter?,( Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Seth Oranburg, How Do Transactions Improve Societal Value? (Contracts Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
9:15 – 9:30 am
Break
9:30 – 10:45 am
Class 4: Property Rights and the Coase Theorem
Reading Assignments:
BSC, Chapter 3: Property Rights (111-24).
BSC, Chapter 4: Externalities (135-80).
Case Discussion:
Matthews v. Wozencraft, 15 F.3d 432 (5th Cir. 1994): 117-22.
Supplemental Video Assignments: Richard Epstein, The Directness of Causation When Charging Defendants for Losses (Common Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Publius, The Problem of Social Cost (In Review, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Todd Zywicki, The Coase Theorem (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
10:45 – 11:00 am
Break
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Class 5: Incompatible Uses of Property Rights
Reading Assignments:
Continuation of previous reading assignment
Case Discussions:
Fontainebleau Hotel Corp. v. Forty-Five Twenty-Five, Inc., 114 So. 2d 357 (1959): 153-61.
Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co., 257 N.E.2d 870 (1970): 164-69.
Supplemental Video Assignments: Richard Epstein, How is the Law of Tort Organized (Common Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Donald J. Kochan, Limits on Property Rights: Reciprocity and Externalities (Property Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
12:15 – 12:45 pm
Lunch Break
12:45 – 2:00 pm
Working Lunch and Class 6: Markets in Action
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 2: Markets and the Price System (92-104).
Case Discussion:
Complaint, State v. Medina (Fla. Cir. Ct. 2005): 94-99.
Supplemental Video Assignment:
Publius, Theories of Economic Regulation (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
2:00 pm
Adjourn for Day: Afternoon Study Session
Tuesday, April 6
6:30 – 7:30 am
Breakfast (on own at the hotel)
7:30 – 8:00 am
Walk from hotel to Antonin Scalia Law School
8:00 – 9:15 am
Class 7: Labor Markets – Risk, Injury, and Compensating Wage Differentials
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 10: Labor Markets (639-703).
9:15 – 9:30 am
Break
9:30 – 10:45 am
Class 8: Market Restraints and Dynamic Response
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 2: Markets and the Price System (64-72, 75-92).
Case Discussion:
Competitive Enterprise Institute v. NHTSA, 956 F.2d 321 (1992): 76-83.
Supplemental Video Assignments: Donald J. Kochan, Evaluating Unintended Consequences (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
The Honorable Douglas Ginsburg, An Economic Approach to Regulation (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
10:45 – 11:00 am
Break
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Class 9: Risk, Injury, and Liability
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 6: Risk (269-372).
Case Discussion:
United States v. Carroll Towing Co., 159 F.2d 169 (1947): 325-334.
Supplemental Video Assignments:
The Honorable Douglas Ginsburg, How is Risk Regulation Related to Economic Analysis? (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Irina Manta, Best Cost Avoider (Torts Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
12:15 – 12:45 pm
Lunch Break
12:45 – 2:00 pm
Working Lunch and Class 10: The Economics of Litigation and Discovery
Reading Assignments:
Bruce Kobayashi, Chapter 10: The Economics of Litigation, in The Oxford Handbook of Law and Economics: Volume 3: Public Law & Legal Institutions, 201-28 (Francesco Parisi ed. 2017).
Bruce H. Kobayashi, Law’s Information Revolution as Procedural Reform: Predictive Search as a Solution to the In Terrorem Effect of Externalized Discovery Costs, 2014 Univ. Of Ill. L. Rev. 1473 (2014).
Jonah B. Gelbach & Bruce H. Kobayashi, The Law and Economics of Proportionality in Discovery, 50 Ga. L. Rev. 1 (2016).
2:00 pm
Adjourn for Day: Afternoon Study Session
Wednesday, April 7
6:30 – 7:30 am
Breakfast (on own at the hotel)
7:30 – 8:00 am
Walk from hotel to Antonin Scalia Law School
8:00 – 9:15 am
Class 11: Economics of Information
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 5: Information Costs and Transaction Costs (182-207).
9:15 – 9:30 am
Break
9:30 – 10:45 am
Class 12: The Law and Economics of Crime and Punishment
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 7: The Economics of Crime and Punishment (399-490) (skim entire chapter).
Supplemental Video Assignments: Joshua Kleinfeld, Crime and Punishment (Criminal Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Robert Leider, Why Do Theories about Punishment Matter? (Criminal Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
10:45 – 11:00 am
Break
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Class 13: Agency Costs and Contracting
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 5: Information Costs and Transaction Costs (207-39).
Case Discussion:
Corenswet, Inc. v, Amana Refrigeration, Inc., 594 F.2d 129 (1979): 225-29.
Supplemental Video Assignments: Richard Epstein, What Role Do Contracts Play in Social Order? (Common Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Richard Epstein, Why Are There Set Terms in Contracts? (Common Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
12:15 – 12:45 pm
Lunch Break
12:45 – 2:00 pm
Working Lunch and Class 14: Corporate Governance
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 5: Information Costs and Transaction Costs (239-68).
Case Discussion: Kamin v. American Express Co., 383 N.Y.S.2d 807 (1976): 249-53.
Supplemental Video Assignments:
Sean Griffith, What Makes a Corporation Legal? (Corporate Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
Robert Miller, Why Are Corporate Executives Subject to Fiduciary Duties? (Corporate Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
2:00 pm
Adjourn for Day: Afternoon Study Session
Thursday, April 8
6:30 – 7:30 am
Breakfast (on own at the hotel)
7:30 – 8:00 am
Walk from hotel to Antonin Scalia Law School
8:00 – 9:15 am
Class 15: Competition and Monopoly
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 8: Industrial Organization and Competition Law (491-568) (skim entire chapter).
9:15 – 9:30 am
Break
9:30 – 10:45 am
Class 16: Cartels
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 8: Industrial Organization and Competition Law (491-568).
Case Discussion:
Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly, 555 U.S. 544 (2007): 537-540.
Supplemental Video Assignment:
Richard Epstein, What are Limits on Freedom of Contract? Conspiracy, Force, Cartels, and Rate Regulation (Common Law Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
10:45 – 11:00 am
Break
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Class 17: Insurance
Reading Assignment:
BSC, Chapter 6: Risk (269-324).
Case Discussions:
Atwater Creamery Co. v. Western National Mutual Insurance Co., 366 N.W. 2d 271 (1985): 286-91.
Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc., 377 P.2d 897 (1963): 335-39.
12:15 – 3:00 pm
Afternoon Study Session
3:00 pm
Bus Departs
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Tour (Historic Venue TBA)
(Registered guests welcome)
5:30 – 9:00 pm
Closing Reception & Dinner
(Registered guests welcome)
Friday, April 9
7:00 – 7:50 am
Breakfast (on own at the hotel)
8:00 – 9:10 am
Class 18: Public Choice Economics
Reading Assignments:
BSC, Chapter 8: Industrial Organization and Competition Law (502-08).
BSC, Chapter 9: The Legislative Process and the Courts (571-95).
Case Discussion:
City of Columbia v. Omni Outdoor Advertising, Inc., 499 U.S. 365 (1991): 580-89.
Supplemental Video Assignment:
Todd Zywicki, Public Interest Theory vs. Public Choice Theory (Law and Economics Course, The Federalist Society’s No. 86 Video Series Project).
9:10 – 9:25 am
Break
9:25 – 10:35 am
Class 19: The Welfare Costs of Tariffs, Monopolies, and Theft
Reading Assignments:
BSC, Chapter 1: The Economics Perspective (14-18).
BSC, Chapter 8: Industrial Organization and Competition Law (502-08).
BSC, Chapter 9: The Legislative Process and the Courts (571-95).
Case Discussion:
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986): 14-20; 517-18.
10:35 – 11:05 am
Break
11:05 – 12:15 pm
Class 20: TBA
12:15 pm
Program Adjourns
Participants depart at their leisure