Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

10-25-2005

SSRN Discipline

Legal Scholarship Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Litigation, Procedure & Dispute Resolution eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Public Law & Legal Theory

Abstract

One of the more interesting contradictions in law is the common description of litigation as a game while simultaneously decrying game playing in the litigation process Litigation involves strategic choice as game theory illustrates One of those strategic choices includes the plaintiffs initial selection of the forum which the defendant may attempt to counter through transfer strategies of its own Criticizing and trivializing forum selection through the label of forum shopping misapprehends the forum game by treating forum selection as a parlor trick as unfair and abusive rather than as a lawful authorized strategy Forum shopping is not a form of cheating by those who refuse to play by the rules Playing by the rules includes the ability of plaintiffs counsel to selectand the ability of defendants counsel to attempt to counterthe set of rules by which the litigation game will be played

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