Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Abstract

Part I of this essay examines how businesses have shaped the evolution of contract’s form from the past to the present and ex-plains how courts have responded by reshaping contract law.1 Part II of this essay anticipates changes in the business landscape and explains how these changes might create new challenges for contract law. Part III predicts two alternative visions for contract law in 2025. The first is as a diminished body of law, made nearly irrelevant by other laws and preempted by private rules administered by non-judicial entities. The second vision is that of a robust contract law administered by courts that understand the diversity of marketplace needs, acknowledge contracting realities, and consider the context of transactions in applying doctrinal rules. This essay concludes that the strength of contract law lies is in its flexibility, but its relevance depends upon how courts use that flexibility to guide its development.

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