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Full-Text Articles in Law

Ex Tempore Contracting, Andrew Verstein May 2014

Ex Tempore Contracting, Andrew Verstein

William & Mary Law Review

This Article argues that a cornerstone assumption of contemporary contracts scholarship is misleading and limited. Leading academic commentary explicitly assumes that contractual responsibilities are determined in the following way: parties determine many of their duties ex ante, by specifying terms at the time of contract formation, and leave the rest of the terms vague, for a court to specify ex post if any should prove important. This ex ante / ex post dichotomy is the guiding framework in attempts to understand contract design and interpretation. For example, parties use terms like “merchantable” quality when the cost of being more specific …


An Inevitable Conflict: The Subordination Of Contract Principles To Informed Consent In The Business Of Banking Umbilical Cord Blood, Abigail Norris Apr 2014

An Inevitable Conflict: The Subordination Of Contract Principles To Informed Consent In The Business Of Banking Umbilical Cord Blood, Abigail Norris

William & Mary Business Law Review

This Note explores the business of banking umbilical cord blood for later, and potentially life-saving, use. It discusses the importance of the stem cells found in umbilical cord blood, and the complexities involved in applying business models to its collection, storage, and use. Furthermore, this Note discusses how contracts governing the storage and use of umbilical cord blood can conflict with concepts of human dignity and informed consent. It concludes that in the event umbilical cord blood banking contracts conflict with informed consent, the contract should be subordinated to a person’s understanding, acquired through procedures intended to achieve the patient, …


In Defense Of Surrogacy Agreements: A Modern Contract Law Perceptive, Yehezkel Margalit Feb 2014

In Defense Of Surrogacy Agreements: A Modern Contract Law Perceptive, Yehezkel Margalit

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The American public’s attention was first exposed to the practice of surrogacy in 1988 with the drama and verdict of the Baby M case. Over the last twenty-five years, the practice of surrogacy has slowly become increasingly socially accepted, and even welcomed. This evolution serves to emphasize the bizarre judicial and legislative silence regarding surrogacy that exists today in the vast majority of U.S. jurisdictions. In this Article, I describe and trace the dramatic revolution that took place during the recent decades, as the surrogacy practice has drastically changed from one viewed as problematic and rejected to a socially widespread …