Monthly Archives: September 2018

17th IACL Conference: Call for Papers

Conferences and Calls for Papers, IACL events and reports, ,

17th IACL Conference: Call for Papers

“Innovation and the Transformation of Consumer Law”

June 13-15, 2019

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Call for Papers: 17th Conference of the International Association of Consumer Law (IACL)

Abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2018.  Submit to: [email protected]

Dates: Thursday, 13 June 2019 – Saturday, 15 June 2019

Location: Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, 530 W. New York Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA

The 17th conference of the International Association of Consumer law will be organized around the theme of “Innovation and the Transformation of Consumer Law.” We kindly invite participants from around the world to submit an abstract (max. 500 words, with a deadline of December 15th, 2018) of a paper they would like to present during the conference. Abstracts and inquiries should be sent to [email protected].  Please note that no interpreters will be available for language translation.

The conference will run from approximately 9:00 AM on Thursday, June 13, 2019 to 3:00 PM on Saturday, June 15. It will be held at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana. The goal of this conference is to provide a forum where leading international scholars, practitioners, representatives of consumer organizations, public authorities and business can gather together to present and discuss issues relevant to consumer protection in many sectors and from various perspectives. We welcome both theoretical and empirical submissions.  Selected authors will be offered an opportunity to publish their papers in the Indiana International and Comparative Law Review.

TOPICS: We encourage presenters to focus on the overarching theme of the conference: “Innovation and the Transformation of Consumer Law.”  Innovation in this sense could encompass technologies that create new challenges for consumer policy (e.g., the “internet of things,” “smart” contracts), creative developments that can assist consumers in protecting their economic interests (e.g., online consumer reviews), innovative approaches to solving traditional and continuing consumer concerns, and challenges presented by emerging ways of creating and delivering consumer products and services.  Within the general theme, presenters might reflect on past successes (and failures) of consumer law and policy in a particular area of commerce, opportunities for moving consumer law in a different direction, or the potential threats to consumer welfare (particularly the impact of changes in the political landscape in some parts of the world). Papers focusing on consumer law in individual countries are welcome, as well as papers with an international focus.

For more information about the conference, hotel accommodations, registration, and a conference schedule, please visit the conference website (in development) at: https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/iacl-conference

Presentations on all topics related to consumer protection will be considered, including but not limited to:

– Access to justice

– Dispute resolution

– International dimensions of consumer law

– Sustainability

– Consumer privacy

– Consumer education

– Health care

– Insurance

– Emerging technologies, Internet, “smart” contracts

– Changing political climate

– Consumer organizations

– Tourism, travel

– Financial services

– Marketing and advertising

– Sharing economy

– Product safety

– History and evolution of consumer law

– Dialogue with other disciplines

All abstracts will be reviewed by the organizers of the conference. Participants will be notified of the organizers’ decisions as soon as is practicable. Timely notification and letters of invitation should allow participants ample time to make transportation arrangements and apply for visas as necessary. Participants in need of assistance in visa applications should check the conference website for more information.

FURTHER DETAILS: The conference will include plenary sessions each day. Most papers, however, will be presented during concurrent workshop sessions following plenary sessions, with the presentation time being limited to 15-20 minutes. There will be short discussion time for each concurrent workshop session.

Please note that all participants, whether presenting a paper or not, are expected to timely register according to the registration policy as set forth on the conference website, which involves payment of a registration fee. The website and registration should be open by October 1.  Participants are invited to attend all days of the conference, including a social program that will include several meals, entertainment and hospitality.

Call for Papers: Consumer Law Scholars Conference

Conferences and Calls for Papers
Consumer Law Scholars Conference
February 21-22, 2019
UC Berkeley School of Law

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice, its director Ted Mermin, and co-organizers Abbye Atkinson, Kathleen Engel, Rory Van Loo, and Lauren Willis are pleased to announce the inaugural Consumer Law Scholars Conference (CLSC), which will be held the afternoon and evening of February 21 and all day February22, 2019, in Berkeley, CA.

The conference will support in-progress scholarship, foster a community of consumer law scholars, and build bridges with scholars in other disciplines who focus on consumer issues. The bulk of the conference will consist of paper workshop sessions at which discussants, rather than authors, introduce and lead discussions of the papers. Everyone who attends a session will be expected to have read the paper; everyone is a participant. The conference will also feature keynotes by leading practitioners and prominent policymakers, as well as time to discuss ideas and collaborate informally.

If you would like to workshop an unpublished paper, please submit: (1) a title, (2) a short abstract that grounds your work in relevant literature, and (3) an outline to Ted Mermin ([email protected] law.berkeley.edu) by October 5, 2018. We will announce accepted abstracts in early November.

Potential topics may range across the full breadth of issues involving consumers in the marketplace, including, e.g.: student loan servicing and debt cancellation; online product endorsement; racial, ethnic and other disparities in treatment by lenders and by merchants; debt collection; public health disclosures; credit reporting; commercial speech and the First Amendment; the proposed Restatement of Consumer Contracts; the CFPB in theory and practice; issues of federalism, preemption, and sovereign immunity in small-dollar lending regulation; UDA(A)P and disclosure laws; consumer behavior; fintech; and the application of consumer law to abuses in the criminal justice system.

Workshop versions of the papers will be due January 21, 2019. There is no commitment (or opportunity) to publish, though editors of the California Law Review will be in attendance. We reserve the right to cancel workshops if the paper draft is not provided sufficiently in advance for meaningful review by participants.

Conference participants will be expected to read the papers in advance. Thus, please calendar at least two days of preparation time in advance of the conference.

LOGISTICS

The Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice will provide dinner on Thursday and breakfast and lunch on Friday. Participants will cover their own travel and lodging expenses. (Berkeley Law has a very small amount available for those who could not otherwise attend.)

We have reserved a block of rooms at the newly renovated Graduate Berkeley hotel, around the corner from the law school.