Program on Alternative Dispute Resolution

2008-09 Schwartz Lecture on Dispute Resolution

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

On Thursday, April 2, 2009, the Moritz College of Law hosted Professor Ian Ayres, the William K. Townsend Professor at Yale Law School, as presenter for the 2009 Schwartz Lecture. During his presentation, Professor Ayres entered into an engaging discussion with Moritz faculty, staff, and students regarding the law, economics, and psychology of counter-offers. Among other topics discussed, Professor Ayres explained that even though offerees are the first people in the universe to know whether or not there are gains of trade when they receive an offer, the psychology of counteroffers suggests they too often choose to reject offers when the offer is outside of their range rather than exploring the possibility of a deal that would jointly maximize both parties’ interests.

Professor Ayres, a lawyer, economist, and author, is a specialist in contract law and has written dozens of articles on a wide range of subjects, including antitrust, contracts, economic damages, corporate contracting, and race discrimination in the marketplace. One of his most well known books is the popular Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-By-Numbers is the New Way to Be Smart, Bantam, 2007.

The Schwartz Lecture on Dispute Resolution was established in 1992 as a result of the generosity of the late Stanley Schwartz Jr. (a 1947 Moritz College of Law graduate) 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.