John Coyle

University of North Carolina School of Law

John Coyle

John F. Coyle is the Reef C. Ivey II Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He is a past chair of the AALS Section on Conflict of Laws and is currently an Adviser for the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Third) of Conflict of Laws. He is the author of more than two dozen articles on choice-of-law clauses, forum selection clauses, cross-border dispute resolution, and international commercial contracts. Before entering the academy, he worked as a transactional attorney at Covington & Burling LLP and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Posts by John Coyle

“Without Regard to Principles of Conflict of Laws”

The phrase “without regard to principles of conflict of laws” appears at the end of many choice-of-law clauses: This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of England without regard to its principles of conflict of law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of Ontario without regard to its conflict of…

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Mule Deer and Forum Selection Clauses

The El Chaparral Ranch in Sonora, Mexico, aspires to provide a world-class hunting experience “for anyone in pursuit of trophy mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, or the exclusive Coues deer.” In 2016, the Ranch contracted with Abraham Garcia Marmolejo, a U.S. citizen residing in Texas, to promote and sell hunts at the Ranch. Marmolejo would…

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Using TLB to Teach Conflict of Laws (2026 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 Laws covers three primary subjects: (1) personal…

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