When individuals, businesses, or corporations are dissatisfied with an existing law, there are typically two ways it can be fixed: by rewriting the law via political mechanisms or simply physically relocating to a more favorable jurisdiction. Both can be costly and time-consuming. This book explores a new way of looking at law, not as something that can be changed only through cumbersome political and legislative processes or avoided by physical movement, but as something that can be shopped for in a market. To a significant extent this perspective on the law is already a reality. Wherever they may be located, corporations are free to choose in which state to incorporate (often Delaware) and online shoppers from one state or country who buy from a company located in another state or country usually agree to provisions that dictate the law governing the transaction from yet another state or country. Disconnecting the choice of law from the location of activities creates a market for law that allows the involved parties to choose which jurisdiction will apply to their relationship, contract, or dispute.The resulting law markets, Ribstein and O'Hara argue, can work to increase efficiency, create better laws, and ensure that laws in all jurisdictions serve the interests of those they govern.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Policy Arguments; 3. Choice-of-Law Principles; 4. The Creation of a Law Market; 5. Arbitration and The Law Market; 6. The corporate Law Market; 7. Consumer Contracts; 8. Marriage and Other Social Issues; 9. Property; 10. A Federal Choice-of-law Statute; 11. Summary and Implications; Notes

Reviews

"The Law Market promises to add some much-needed clarity and common sense to a 'largely ignored field of law.'"--Harvard Law Review

"One of the most important metrics for evaluating the success of an academic work is the degree to which it sparks further questions...Evaluated along this dimension, The Law Market must be deemed a smashing success."--Engage: The Journal of the Federalist Society's Practice Groups

"O'Hara and Ribstein's book is a breakthrough in legal scholarship. Recognizing that the unprecedented mobility of today's society gives economic actors substantial choice over the law that will govern their affairs, the authors analyze law as a product that is produced by states and marketed to consumers. The authors thereby identify a fundamental feature of contemporary business law that has until now been overlooked or only imperfectly understood. The book is chock-full of original insights into the operation of this 'market for law', and offers a valuable