Title

Explaining the Value of Transactional Lawyering

Abstract

This article attempts, empirically, to explain the value that lawyers add when acting as counsel to parties in business transactions. Contrary to existing scholarship, which is based mostly on theory, this article shows that transactional lawyers add value primarily by reducing regulatory costs, thereby challenging the reigning models of transactional lawyers as “transaction cost engineers” and “reputational intermediaries.” This new model not only helps inform contract theory but also reveals a profoundly different vision than existing models for the future of legal education and the profession.

Disciplines

Banking and Finance Law | Business Organizations Law | Commercial Law | Contracts | Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Economics | Law and Economics | Law and Society | Legal Education | Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility | Legal Profession | Organizations Law | Secured Transactions | Securities Law

Date of this Version

August 2006