LPE Blog

Weekly Roundup: May 5, 2023

Weekly Roundup: May 5, 2023

Sabeel Rahman on the Biden Administration’s overhaul of the regulatory review process, Yanbai Andrea Wang on the role of civil procedure in U.S.-China Relations, and Alex Wang on the benefits of empathy in comparative legal analysis. Plus, interviews with Julie Suk on her new book and Gabriel Winant on class composition in the 21st century, new essays. . .

Analyzing China: The Role of Empathy in Comparative Law

Analyzing China: The Role of Empathy in Comparative Law

China has long been understood (and misunderstood) through the presuppositions and biases of the West. From canonical political philosophers, who have debated whether China represents an “oriental despotism,” to contemporary scholars who question the very existence of law in China, the study of the country is rife with analytical blind spots. But how. . .

Civil Procedure in U.S.-China Relations

Civil Procedure in U.S.-China Relations

In comparison with American courts, which increasingly adjudicate a narrow set of transnational cases, Chinese courts rarely forfeit authority over transnational cases. This development is reshaping the landscape of transnational litigation, as China’s appetite for taking on transnational cases calls attention to the advantages of exercising jurisdiction over. . .

Rewiring Regulatory Review

Rewiring Regulatory Review

Last month, the Biden Administration released a long-awaited overhaul of the regulatory review process. Although these changes are aimed at a highly technical and behind-the-scenes process, their importance is hard to overstate. From lowering the social discount rate, to providing a method for income weighting, to incorporating hard-to-quantify impacts into. . .

Weekly Roundup: April 28, 2023

Weekly Roundup: April 28, 2023

Wanshu Cong on China’s recent efforts to pursue “foreign-related rule of law,” Eli Friedman on U.S. efforts to address labor exploitation in China, and Xiaoqian Hu on different ways of seeing, knowing, and analyzing China. Plus, an interview with Sabeel Rahman, a talk by Sanjukta Paul, and an upcoming event with the Sustainable Global Economic Law. . .

Toward a Postmetaphysical Approach to the Study of Chinese Law

Toward a Postmetaphysical Approach to the Study of Chinese Law

In a world where differences between the United States and China are increasingly amplified and weaponized, how can legal scholars study China fairly, insightfully, and constructively? Should we adopt a “metaphysical approach,” which holds that scholars can set aside their own value preferences and study other societies neutrally and objectively, or. . .

Weekly Roundup: April 21, 2023

Weekly Roundup: April 21, 2023

Andrew Crespo considers the power of plea strikes and defendant unions, Jed Kroncke kicks off a symposium on China, and Vincent Wong discusses the place of racial capitalism in China’s northwestern frontier. Plus, an interview with Amy Kapczynski, a new paper by Sanjukta Paul, a new issue of PRRAC on tenant power and social housing, events with Karen. . .

China and the Political Economy of the International Legal Order

China and the Political Economy of the International Legal Order

There is an urgent need to develop a genuine critical left internationalism to help think through issues related to China. Yet engaging this subject from an LPE perspective confronts two broad challenges. First, it requires bringing LPE concepts into conversation with debates regarding the diverse legal underpinnings of the global economic order. Second, it. . .

Defendants, United, Could Strike the State Blindsided

Defendants, United, Could Strike the State Blindsided

The American penal system is astonishingly vulnerable to the threat of defendant collective action. The reason is simple: the system is massively overleveraged. Major city court systems, which only have the capacity to bring to trial about 3 percent of the cases they handle, are dependent on plea bargaining to remain minimally functional. If even a tiny. . .

Weekly Roundup: April 14, 2023

Weekly Roundup: April 14, 2023

Week in review: James Nelson, Liz Sepper, and Kate Redburn examine Groff v. DeJoy, while Tommaso Bardelli, Zach Gillespie, and Thuy Linh Tu explain the harms of an austerity-driven approach to criminal justice reform. Plus, Aziz Rana on Ntina Tzouvala’s recent book, Sandeep Vaheesan on non-competes, Saule Omarova on FedAccounts, Veena Dubal on variable. . .

The High Cost of Cheap Prisons

The High Cost of Cheap Prisons

Starting in the early 2000s, a bipartisan consensus emerged around the untenable price tag of mass imprisonment. Twenty years later, this left-right consensus has hardly made a dent in the US prison population. Instead, an austerity-driven approach to criminal justice reform has led to reductions in basic services inside prisons and jails, ultimately shifting. . .