This comprehensive Advanced Introduction provides an overview of contract law and contemporary contract theory. Demonstrating that an understanding of theory and policy is a vital aspect of being an effective practicing lawyer, Brian H. Bix explores which theoretical approaches can best explain and justify contract law, arguing for greater critical attention to the connections between contract law theory, practice, and teaching.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Providing a concise overview of the basic doctrines underlying the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), Clayton Gillette explores their ambiguities and thus considers the extent to which uniform international commercial law is possible, as well as appraising the extent to which the doctrines in the UN Convention reflect those that commercial parties would prefer. With its compelling combination of doctrine and theory, this book makes an ideal companion for students and legal scholars alike. Key features include: • Concise and compact overview of the CISG • Includes contemporary developments • Provides a theoretical basis for evaluating international sales law • Considers perspectives of economic analysis of law.

"This book offers an accessible introduction to all aspects of American contract law, useful to both first-year law students and advanced contract scholars"--

This important Advanced Introduction considers the multiple ways in which law and entrepreneurship intertwine. Shubha Ghosh expertly explores key areas defining the field, including lawyering, innovation policy, intellectual property and economics and finance, to enhance both legal and pedagogical concepts.

To gain a deep understanding of contract law, one needs to master not only the rules and principles of the field, but also its underlying theory and justification, and its long and intricate history. This book offers an accessible introduction to all aspects of American contract law, useful to both first-year law students and advanced contract scholars. The book is grounded on up-to-date scholarship and contains detailed references to cases, statutes, Restatements and international legal principles. The book takes the reader from contract formation through interpretation and remedies, considering both the practical and theoretical aspects throughout. Each chapter also includes helpful lists of suggested further reading.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. In this Advanced Introduction, one of the world’s leading private law scholars takes the reader on an intellectual journey through the different facets and dimensions of the field, from the family home to Kuta Beach and from Thomas Piketty to Nina Hagen. This concise book provides an accessible and fresh introduction to private law, presenting the topic as a unified whole of which the main branches – on contract, tort, property, family and inheritance – are governed by conflicts between individual autonomy and countervailing principles. The book stands out as a unique account of how private law allows individuals to optimally flourish in matters of economy, work, leisure, family and life in general.

Contract Law and Theory, the leading theoretical casebook on contracts, is based on clear, discernible themes and patterns that underlie much of contract law, and as it develops them explicitly, the student is invited to develop a working model of contract law. The model that emerges views contract law through the theoretical lenses of autonomy, efficiency, and pluralism, and asks students to decide if and when these perspectives conflict or converge in contract doctrine. The model is also used throughout as a method for predicting the outcome of contract disputes and is tested through careful case and doctrinal analysis. Contract Law and Theory begins with an overview chapter and many of the following chapters contain introductory essays presenting some of the basic doctrines and theoretical approaches covered in the chapter. The sixth edition adds a new section in Chapter Eight (Mistake and Excuse) that provides a concise overview of recent COVID-related contract litigation, including two new cases and a set of notes describing variations. For professors who cover Chapter Eight in depth, this new section serves to illustrate the contemporary life of the mistake and excuse doctrines. For those who prefer more concise coverage, the section can serve as a stand-alone alternative to the other sections of Chapter Eight, providing professors with the option of introducing, analyzing, and summarizing the law of mistake and excuse in a contemporary context. The book has been carefully edited for accuracy and concision and updated to reflect new scholarly and doctrinal trends, with all main cases remaining substantially the same.