HEC Paris Workshop on Lobbying the Court
September 14-15, 2023, HEC Paris campus
The question whether and how interest groups lobby the courts remains largely understudied and as a result neglected across the relevant literature. Yet engaging with the judiciary, not only through litigation, but through a variety of influencing practices – be they standard ones such as reaching out to the judges or unconventional ones such as submitting amici curiae briefs –, is part of the lobbying toolbox routinely mobilized by both special and diffused interest groups (e.g. Zinnbauer, 2022; Hofmann & Naurin, 2021; Collins & McCarthy, 2017; Anderson, 2016; Casarin, 2015; Caldeira & Wright, 1988).
The proposed 2-day-workshop intends to fill up this gap. It will take place in the Château of the HEC Paris campus on September 14th and September 15th, 2023.
The primary purpose of this event is to gather researchers from a variety of disciplines - notably those working on non-market strategy in business studies, interest groups in political science, and lobbying regulation in law – who are interested in advancing research on judicial lobbying, and come from different geographies. The workshop will include paper presentations and discussions, as well as a roundtable session aimed at conceptually defining what 'lobbying the courts' means and who does it (professional legal specialists, academics, other types of consultants, and experts).
We welcome submissions in both empirical and theoretical research on all aspects of corporate lobbying in the judiciary. We especially encourage scholars who are early in their careers to submit manuscripts for consideration.
Confirmed presenters and discussants include: Dieter Zinnbauer (Copenaghen Business School), Emilia Korkea-aho (Helsinki University), Marcel Hanegraaff (University of Amsterdam), John Walsh (Georgia Tech), Elie Sung (HEC Paris) and Alberto Alemanno (HEC Paris).
Interested contributors are invited to submit their short abstract (maximum 200 words) by April 1 2023 (at the latest) by completing this form. Following a swift preselection, authors will be asked to submit their first draft manuscripts on September 1 to allow participants and discussants to prepare ahead of the workshop.
This workshop is co-sponsored by HEC Paris and the S&O Institute. Conference organizers will cover up, upon previous approval, reasonable travel expenses plus accommodation for all presenters. All non-presenting co-authors are welcome to attend the workshop at their own expense. There is no registration fee. Questions about this conference may be addressed to the organizers: Alberto Alemanno (alemanno@hec.fr) and Elie Sung (sung@hec.fr) whereas logistical/administrative aspects to Camilla Pater (pater@hec.fr).
Selected bibliography
Alemanno, A. (2017), Lobbying for Change, London: Iconbooks.
Anderson, J. J. (2016). Judicial Lobbying. Wash. L. Rev., 91, 401.
Casarin, A. A. (2015). Non-market strategies in legal arenas. The Routledge Companion to Non-market Strategy. Routledge, New York, 141-161.
Collins, P., & McCarthy, L. (2017). Friends and Interveners: Interest Group Litigation in a Comparative Context. Journal of Law and Courts, 5(1), 55-80. doi:10.1086/690275.
Korkea-aho, E. (2021). Legal Lobbying: The Evolving (But Hidden) Role of Lawyers and Law Firms in the EU Public Affairs Market. German Law Journal, 22(1), 65-84.
Hofmann, A, Naurin, D. Explaining interest group litigation in Europe: Evidence from the comparative interest group survey. Governance. 2021; 34: 1235– 1253. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12556
Sung, E. J. (2019). The co-construction of court-made patent policy and firm strategy (Doctoral dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology).
Zinnbauer, D. (2022), Corporate judicial activity, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4271440
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Elie Sung
HEC Paris
Jouy-en-Josas
+33 (0) 1 39 67 9813
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