Program on Alternative Dispute Resolution

Schwartz Lecture on Dispute Resolution

The Schwartz Lecture on Dispute Resolution was established in 1992 as a result of the generosity of the late Stanley Schwartz Jr. '47 and the Schwartz family. Each lecture is published in the interdisciplinary Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, in keeping with Mr. Schwartz's interest in the promotion of scholarly publication in the area of dispute resolution.

2008-09 Schwartz Lecture: Never Say No: The Law, Economics and Psychology of Counteroffers

April 2, 2009 | Noon | Saxbe Auditorium

Ian Ayres
William K. Townsend Professor
Yale Law School

Archived Webcast

This presentation will review the law, economics and psychology of counteroffers. The law of counteroffers turns out to be a rare kind of double-jointed default. The economics of counteroffers is also surprising in that offerees are the first people in the universe to know whether or not there are gains of trade. And the law can usefully chanel different offerees toward accepting or counteroffering. Finally, the psychology of counteroffers suggests that offerees too often choose to reject offers rather than exploring the possibility of a jointly maximizing deal.

Previous Schwartz Lectures

• 2007-08: "Deliberative Democracy and Dispute Resolution," Lawrence Susskind, Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT, Vice-Chair for Instruction at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, Founder, Consensus Building Institute
• 2006-07: "Good Lawyers Should be Good Psychologists: Insights for Interviewing and Counseling Clients," Jean R. Sternlight, Saltman Professor of Law and Director, Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law
• 2005-06: "Developing the MRI (Mediation Receptivity Index)," Frank E.A. Sander, Bussey Professor of Law at Harvard College
• 2004-05: "Mercy, Clemency, and Capital Punishment: Two Accounts," Austin Sarat, Professor of Law at Amherst College
• 2004-05: "Psychological Impediments to Mediation Success: A Theoretical Look at Practical Problems," Russell Korobkin, Professor of Law at UCLA
• 2003-04: - "Strategic Mediation," Francis McGovern, Professor of Law at Duke University
• 2002-03: "Gender, Human Rights, and Peace Agreements," Christine Chinkin, Professor of Law at the London School of Economics
• 2001-02: Lecture was delivered by I. William Zartman, Jacob Blaustein Professor of International Organization and Conflict Resolution, and Director of African Studies and Conflict Management Programs at Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.