Contract Theory Works in Progress Workshop

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February 2-3, 2024

About the Workshop

Every year BCPLT brings to Berkeley a group of prominent contract theorists from both the US and elsewhere to present and discuss original papers in contract theory, broadly defined.

Organizing Committee

Hanoch Dagan
Professor of Law & Director, Berkeley Center for Private Law Theory
Berkeley Law

Aditi Bagchi
Professor of Law
Fordham Law

Roy Kreitner
Professor of Law
Tel-Aviv University

Program

The program features 6 sessions in which we will discuss 12 papers dedicating 50 minutes to each. The discussion will begin with the commentator who will have 15 minutes to speak, followed by a brief response (5 to 10 minutes) by the author and then an open discussion. We obviously encourage all participants to read the papers in advance to facilitate discussion during the conference.

Friday, February 2, 2024

9:00 am: Gathering in Goldberg Room

9:30 am – 11:10 am: Session 1

Presenter: Daniel Markovits: Promise as Contract

Commenter: Tom Christiano  

Presenter: Mirthe Jiwa: Incapacity and Supported-Decision Making: From Embarrassment to Model for Private Autonomy?

Commenter: Felipe Jiménez

11:10 am – 11:30 am: Break

11:30 am – 1:10 pm: Session 2

Presenter: Rebecca Stone: Tort as Contract

Commenter: Alan Schwartz

Presenter: Nick Sage: Is Contract Law Liberal?

Commenter: Sabine Tsuruda

1:10 pm – 2:10 pm: Lunch on the Steinhart Terrace

2:10 pm – 3:50 pm: Session 3

Presenter: Ciara Kennefick: The Just Price in Salvage Contracts

Commenter: Ethan Leib

Presenter: Martijn Hesselink: The Revolution 

Commenter: Nathan Oman

3:50 pm – 4:10 pm: Break

4:10 pm – 5:50 pm: Session 4

Presenters: James Gordley & Hao Jiang: The Misconceived Doctrine of Causa and the Incoherence of Contemporary Contract Law 

Commenter: David Grewal

Presenter: Chris Mills: Two Cheers for the Overborne Will

Commenter: Roy Kreitner

6:15 pm – 8:15 pm: Dinner at Women’s Faculty Club, Berkeley 

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Saturday, February 3, 2024

9:15 am – 10:55 am: Session 5

Presenter: Arie Rosen: The Bifurcated Structure of Contract Law and the Limits of Contract Law Theory

Commenter: Abbye Atkinson

Presenter: Crescente Molina: Contracting Without Promising

Commenter: Lyn Tjon Soei Len

10:55 am – 11:15 am: Break

11:15 am – 12:55 pm: Session 6

Presenter: Greg Klass: Convergence by Design: Who Contracts and the Plural Purposes of Contract Law

Commenter: Prince Saprai

Presenter: Mark Gergen: Objects of Consent in Contract Law

Commenter: Aditi Bagchi

12:55 pm: Boxed Lunch Pick-up on the Steinhart Terrace

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Participants

Abbye Atkinson (Berkeley)
Adam Badawi (Berkeley)
Aditi Bagchi (Fordham)
Andrew Bradt (Berkeley)
Elena Chachko (Berkeley)
Thomas Christiano (Arizona, Philosophy)
Hanoch Dagan (Berkeley)
James Gordley (Tulane)
Mark Gergen (Berkeley)
David S Grewal (Berkeley)
Martijn Hesselink (European University Institute)
Hao Jiang (Bocconi)
Felipe Jiménez (USC)
Mirthe Jiwa (Amsterdam)
Ciara Kennefick (Oxford)
Greg Klass (Georgetown)
Roy Kreitner (Tel-Aviv)
Christopher Kutz (Berkeley)
Daniel Lee (Berkeley)
Ethan Leib (Fordham)
Lyn Tjon Soei Len (Ohio)
Daniel Markovits (Yale)
Christopher Mills (Warwick)
Crescente Molina (Rutgers)
Nathan Oman (William & Mary)
Diana S. Reddy (Berkeley)
Arie Rosen (Auckland)
Nick Sage (London School of Economics)
Prince Saprai (University College London)
Alan Schwartz (Yale)
Rebecca Stone (UCLA)
Sabine Tsuruda (Queen’s, Canada)

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Conference Papers

Papers can only be accessed with a password. Please click the page above to access the papers.