User:JRobble/sandbox/Keith Hylton

Keith N. Hylton is an American law professor at Boston University School of Law. His scholarship focuses on antitrust law, economics & law, employment law, intellectual property and torts.

Keith N. Hylton
Alma mater	Harvard College Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard Law School
Occupation	Law professor
Employer	Boston University School of Law

Biography

After graduating from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan, Hylton attended Harvard College for his undergraduate degree, where he won the Allyn Young Prize for the best undergraduate economics thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a PhD in Economics, and Harvard Law School for a JD.

Hylton taught at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law for five years and was offered tenure there in 1995. After his wife, Maria O'Brien, was not offered tenure at Northwestern, they both took tenured positions at Boston University School of Law.

In 2013, he was appointed the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Boston University. The award was established in 2008 and was named in honor of Boston University's first president and is granted to faculty and professors who "remain actively involved in research, scholarship, teaching, and the University’s civic life." Hylton has been quoted in the media by publications such as, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, USA Today, and Bloomberg Law. He served as President of the American Law and Economics Association for the 2017-2018 term.

Professional Engagement

Hylton is the editor of the Social Sciences Research Network's Torts and Products Liability Law e-Journal, associate editor for the International Review of Law and Economics, coeditor of Competition Policy International, and contributing editor of the Antitrust Law Journal. He is the former chair of the Section on Torts and Compensation Systems of the American Association of Law Schools, the former chair of the Section on Antitrust and Economic Regulation of the American Association of Law Schools, the former secretary of the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section, a former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Legal Education, and the former chair of the Law and Economics Section of the American Associations of Law School. Hylton is also a current member of the American Law Institute, serves on the board of directors of the Pioneer Institute, and is a contributor to the Federalist Society.

Scholarship

Books

Tort Law: A Modern Perspective (Cambridge University Press 2016).

Hylton's book provides an introduction to tort law by explaining different cases and legal doctrines, including duty of care and the moral and economic definitions of negligence. He analyzes how tort law is taught and the philosophies, ideas, public policy, and economics surrounding it.

Laws of Creation: Property Rights in the World of Ideas (with Ron Cass) (Harvard University Press 2013).

Hylton and Cass wrote an overview of the history and laws surrounding intellectual property from a "property-centric perspective. It weighs the static costs and dynamic benefits that support ideas being protected, whether it is to encourage an individual to create or an organization to commercialize those ideas, and discusses the four major components of intellectual property law: patent, trade secrets, copyright, and trademark law. The book also explains why intellectual property protections are more important in an electronic world. Although Hylton and Cass support a utilitarian theory of intellectual property rights, they acknowledge one of its limitations is insufficient data to make accurate cost-benefit determinations, especially since there are future benefits that cannot be predicted.

Research Handbook on the Economics of Criminal Law (co-edited with Alon Harel) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Hylton and Harel co-edited this book that compiles original, commissioned papers that discuss the economic aspects and uses in criminal law. There are a myriad of opinions and perspectives in the book that outline the ideal design of criminal law. As well, they discuss the regulation and economics of corporate crime, sentencing, and technology.

Antitrust Law and Economics (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Hylton edited this book, which is the antitrust volume of Edward Elgar Publishing's Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. It provides brief overviews of essential antitrust topics from a variety of perspectives. Hylton authored a chapter in the book on how courts have adjudicated issues surrounding monopolies.

Antitrust Law: Economic Theory and Common Law Evolution (Cambridge University Press, 2003)(Chinese translation published by Peking University Press, 2010)

In this book, Hylton discusses and analyzes modern antitrust laws through both antitrust and common law evolution. He identifies conflict "between economic reasonableness and administrative concerns" as the main contributor to the evolution of antitrust law. Hylton also notes that the purpose of antitrust law has shifted from improving competition amongst firms to protecting consumers. A critique of this work is that Hylton's description of the common law before the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 as a cost-benefit test is an oversimplification.

Articles

As of October 2020, Hylton's most cited and downloaded articles include:

• Keith N. Hylton, Introduction: Antitrust Conference in Honor of Joe Brodley, 90 B.U. L. Rev. 1367 (2010).

• Keith N. Hylton, Punitive Damages and the Economic Theory of Penalties, 87 Geo. L.J. 421 (1998).

• Keith N. Hylton, Asymmetric Information and the Selection of Disputes for Litigation, 22 J. Legal Stud. 187 (1993).

• Keith N. Hylton, Agreements to Waive or to Arbitrate Legal Claims: An Economic Analysis, 8 Sup. Ct. Econ. Rev. 209 (2000).

• Keith N. Hylton & Michael A. Salinger, Tying Law and Policy: A Decision Theoretic Approach, 69 Antitrust Law Journal 469 (2001).

• Ronald A. Cass & Keith N. Hylton, Antitrust Intent, 74 So. Cal. L. Rev. 657 (2001).

• Christopher R. Drahozal & Keith N. Hylton, The Economics of Litigation and Arbitration: An Application to Franchise Contracts, 32 J. Legal Stud. v.32 549 (2003): Hylton discusses how litigation and arbitration contribute to economics. When parties agree to arbitration they may prefer vague terms.

• “Calabresi and the Intellectual History of Law and Economics,” (Symposium on Calabresi) Maryland Law Review, v. 64: Hylton provides an intellectual history that discusses the origins of Gary Becker's and Guido Calabresi's works.

• A Public Choice Theory of Criminal Procedure

• “When Should We Prefer Tort Law to Environmental Regulation,” (invited torts symposium article) Washburn Law Journal, v. 41, 515-534, 2002: Hylton analyzes the significance of the role private law and tort law plays in protecting human health through the environment.

• “Preserving Competition: Economic Analysis Legal Standards and Microsoft,” (with Ronald A. Cass), ICER Working Paper No. 15/99, George Mason Law Review, v. 8, 1 – 40, 1990. (Reprinted in Microsoft, Antitrust and the New Economy: Selected Essays, David S. Evans, ed. 2002): Hylton and Cass use Microsoft as a case study to analyze antitrust and different monopolist policies. This article has been applied to the United States v. Microsoft Corp. case.

• “The Law and Economics of Products Liability,” Notre Dame Law Review, vol. 88 (n.5), 2457-2514, 2013: This article explores the ways in which product liability law impacts social welfare and welfare consequences of the law.