Using TLB to Teach Conflict of Laws (2025 Update)
This post updates our series explaining how professors can use resources on TLB to teach various classes. Previous posts have discussed Transnational Litigation, Civil Procedure, Foreign Relations Law, and International Business Transactions. This post discusses Conflict of Laws. All of these posts are accessible at our Teaching Resources page. Primers and Topic Pages Conflict of…
Continue ReadingCalifornia Supreme Court Narrows Grounds for Non-Enforcement of Foreign Forum Selection Clauses
On July 21, 2025, the California Supreme Court issued its first opinion in many years addressing the enforceability of a forum selection clause. In EpicentRx v. Superior Court, it held that the fact that the court named in the clause did not allow for jury trials was not a valid basis for declining to enforce…
Continue ReadingMini-SPEECH Acts
In the United States, it is common for states to enact statutes that mirror those already in operation at the federal level. These state statutes are sometimes described as “mini” versions of a particular federal enactment. A quick internet search turned up references to mini-FTC Acts, mini-WARN Acts, mini-Brooks Acts, and mini-Randolph-Sheppard Acts, among others….
Continue ReadingUtah: A Virtual Gretna Green?
In Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet plans to elope to the village of Gretna Green, Scotland with Mr. Wickham. As she explains in a letter: You will laugh when you know where I am gone, and I cannot help laughing myself at your surprise tomorrow morning, as soon as I am missed….
Continue ReadingA Costly Drafting Mistake
When I teach Conflict of Laws, I spend a lot of time showing my class how to draft a good choice-of-law clause. It’s not hard. Everything you need to know is laid out in the Primer on Choice-of-Law Clauses. Unfortunately, these instructions are not always followed. In one recent case, Pool Scouts Franchising LLC v….
Continue ReadingMicrosoft Contract Day 2025!
Two years ago today, I authored a post titled “Microsoft’s Dispute Resolution Provisions Are a Mess.” I argued that the “Jurisdiction and Governing Law” language in the form purchase order used by Microsoft and its subsidiaries in 109 countries around the world was “incoherent.” My goal in writing the post was to inspire/shame Microsoft –…
Continue ReadingWho Has the Authority to Waive Sovereign Immunity Via Contract?
In a prior post, Ingrid Brunk and I wrote about the ways that foreign nations can waive their sovereign immunity via various types of contractual provisions. There are, however, additional requirements that must be satisfied for a contractual waiver of sovereign immunity to be valid. Among other things, a party seeking to enforce such a…
Continue ReadingZach Clopton Named Interim Dean of Northwestern
We are delighted to share that TLB Editor Zach Clopton has been named the interim dean of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. In light of his new responsibilities, Zach will be stepping away from his editorial duties at TLB. We have pasted below some of his “greatest hits” to highlight the breadth and depth…
Continue ReadingThe Personal Jurisdiction Case With Everything
In one of my favorite moves, The Princess Bride, the grandfather describes the story as having everything: “Fencing! Fighting! Revenge! Giants! Chases! Escapes! True love! Miracles!” This scene popped into my head when I was reading a recent decision by the Court of Appeals of Texas (Fourteenth District). That opinion, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London…
Continue ReadingThe Many Uses of the Forum Selection Clause
The forum selection clause is the Swiss Army Knife of transnational litigation. Among other things, it may be invoked to: obtain personal jurisdiction over a defendant who otherwise lacks any connection to the chosen jurisdiction; dismiss a case filed in a jurisdiction other than the one named in the clause; defeat an attempt to enforce…
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