Contracts: Law and a Market Economy II

Students will study the development of the law governing agreements between private parties. The backdrop for this study of legal intervention into "private" affairs is an understanding that both our economy as a whole and the economic positions of individuals and groups are shaped and reinforced by the imprimatur and interjection of the law in this area. Students study the historical development of each of the major doctrinal concepts - offer, acceptance, consideration, modification, breach, defenses, and remedies - as well as the related concepts of reliance, restitution, promissory estoppel, and unjust enrichment. Focus on both the common law and statutory law (UCC) governing contracts challenges students to develop strong legal analysis skills and provides a rich context for an introduction to theories of jurisprudence, including natural law, positivist theory, realist theory, laissez-faire economics theory, feminist legal theory, critical race theory, economics and the law, and relational and empirical contract theory.