Academic

Conference Announcement: Contracts at UNLV

By Lawrence Solum

Invitation: We invite paper, presentation, and panel proposals exploring any aspect of contract law, theory, and policy writ large (including, but not limited to, bankruptcy/insolvency, commercial law, consumer law, dispute resolution regimes, family law, insurance law, legal systems, and restitution, in addition to more traditional contract topics) from a behavioral, comparative, critical, doctrinal, economic, empirical, equitable, historical, institutional, interdisciplinary, jurisprudential, pedagogical, philosophical, policy-driven, or political perspective.  We also solicit volunteers to serve as moderators or discussants for panels that are not "pre-packaged."

The CFPs issued earlier this year for the AALS Section on Contracts' January annual meeting program on New Approaches to Teaching Contracts: A ?Teach-In? and the AALS Section on Commercial and Related Consumer Law's January annual meeting program on The Principles of the Law of Software Contracts: A Phoenix Rising from the Ashes of Article 2B and UCITA? each yielded more excellent proposals than either section could accommodate in New Orleans.  Both topics remain quite relevant, and I hope to assemble one or more panels on each that will continue the conversations begun in New Orleans.  I am also working on the opening plenary, my UNLV colleague Jeff Stempel is organizing a panel on insurance contracts, and Wayne Barnes (Texas Wesleyan) is organizing a panel on comparative contract law and theory.  Those efforts, if all bear fruit, still leave room for many more presenters, moderators, and discussants.

We will try to accommodate as many presenters, moderators, and discussants as possible.  We particularly encourage junior scholars and those who work in non-U.S. legal systems to propose papers or panels and to volunteer to serve as a discussant or moderator.  We also welcome anyone who wishes to attend the conference without presenting or serving as a discussant or moderator.  The educational and networking benefits alone are worth the price of admission.

Publication: There is no publication requirement for conference participants, although experience suggests that individual papers and panels often find good homes.  The Nevada Law Journal encourages participants to submit individual and panel papers and hopes to publish several works from the conference in upcoming issues.

Submitting a Proposal: If you would like to propose a presentation or panel, please e-mail a title, brief description, and any supporting materials by January 4, 2010 to keith.rowley@unlv.edu or snail-mail it to me at the address below.  If you would like to discuss or moderate, please let me know your interests and availability by January 4.  We will evaluate all proposals and try to accommodate all requests to discuss or moderate we receive by January 4; we will entertain proposals and requests received after January 4 on a space-available basis.

Preliminary Schedule: The conference program will begin both Friday and Saturday morning no later than 9:00 a.m. (grazing and conversational opportunities will start earlier) and will run until 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. each day.

Accommodations: The Hyatt Place next to campus (4520 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89169) is holding a block of rooms at the rate of $118.00 per night (plus tax).  The official deadline for hotel registration at the conference rate is January 25, 2010.  However, I encourage you to book sooner, as we blocked a limited number of rooms (due to the The Hyatt Place requiring the law school to guarantee at least 80% occupancy and pay the difference if actual registration was less than we anticipate) and will be more likely to get the Hyatt Place to make the conference rate available to additional attendees if early registration is robust.

To book a conference-rate room at The Hyatt Place, go to www.lasvegas.place.hyatt.com; choose a check-in date no earlier than February 25, 2010 and a check-out date no later than February 28, 2010; enter group code G-BOYD in the box labeled Group/Corporate #; hit the check availability button; if a room is available, verify that our group name (Boyd School of Law Contracts Conference) is specified next to rate details, then hit book.  If you have trouble booking online, or if you prefer to reserve a room over the phone, please call the hotel at (702) 369-3366.

Transportation: For attendees who stay at the conference hotel, The Hyatt Place provides airport shuttle service and we'll provide transportation between the Hyatt Place and the law school for those not wanting to walk the mile or so.  Attendees who prefer to stay on The Strip or elsewhere are responsible for their own ground transportation.

Sustenance: Your registration fee will cover the costs of lunches both days and a reception and dinner Friday evening, as well as coffee, fruit, and baked goods each morning and cold beverage service and morsels each afternoon.  The Hyatt Place also offers a complimentary continental breakfast, which might be particularly attractive to those whose body clocks are on Eastern or Central Time (or earlier).

Registration: We're still finalizing the conference registration fee and process.  The registration fee will be no more than $250.  This is higher than past spring contracts conferences, in part because some law school publishers have not subsidized the conference to the extent they have in past years.  Fortunately, the relatively low conference hotel rate (compared to prior spring contracts conferences), free airport transportation for those staying at the conference hotel, the relative ease and low cost of flying into and out of Las Vegas's McCarran Airport (which is less than two miles from the hotel) compared to prior venues, and the quality of the programming and networking opportunities should more than offset the higher registration fee.

If you have any questions, please call or e-mail me.  My contact information follows.

I hope to see you in Las Vegas in February.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on December 01, 2009 (boomark / email).