ATE - The value maximization principle, and how that principle translates into contract practice

On this webinar Henrik Lando discusses how to maximize the value of your contracts through terms including liquidated damages or bonuses, limitations of liability, termination rights, hardship and force majeure.Henrik, Professor of Law And Economics at Copenhagen Business School, explains how these and other terms should trade off three concerns: the allocation of risk, each party's incentives, and the likelihood of dispute.You also learn how the choice of terms is affected by the nature of the relationship, for example if it is a simple commodity transaction or an ongoing collaborative effort involving performance that is difficult to define in exact terms. We discuss whether economic theory can help to cut through this complexity, and also how realistic the economic principles are, e.g. whether it is realistic to expect the stronger party to seek the value maximizing terms rather than the terms that put the risk on the weaker party.\r
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Our ExpertHenrik Lando is Professor of Law and Economics at the Copenhagen Business School. He received his Master's degree and PhD in economics from Copenhagen University, and has been a visiting scholar both at UCLA (1989) and MIT (1992-93). In January of this year, he was appointed Visiting Distinguished Professor at University of Pennsylvania Law School (Penn Law) where he taught a course on the application of economic principles to contracts.He is a long-term member of IACCM and co-founder of the Danish Contract Management Association (a subsidiary of IACCM). He teaches mainly contract law and economics, i.e. the theory that applies economic principles to contract law and to the drafting of contracts. He also serves as a consultant, most recently in a large construction project.