Christopher R. Drahozal


Christopher Drahozal
  • John M. Rounds Professor of Law

Biography

Christopher R. Drahozal is an internationally known scholar whose writing focuses on the law and economics of dispute resolution, particularly arbitration. Drahozal is the author of multiple books and numerous articles on commercial arbitration. He has given presentations on the subject in Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and the United States, and has testified before Congress and state legislatures on arbitration matters as well. He served as an Associate Reporter for the ALI's Restatement of the U.S. Law of International Commercial and Investor-State Arbitration, and as a Special Advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, assisting with its study of arbitration clauses in consumer financial services contracts. Drahozal also is a well-respected teacher and received the Immel Award for Teaching Excellence in 2004.

Prior to coming to KU, Professor Drahozal practiced law with Sidley & Austin in Washington, D.C., and served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Charles Clark of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Justice Byron R. White of the United States Supreme Court, and Judge George H. Aldrich of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Education

J.D., University of Iowa College of Law, 1986
Articles Editor, Iowa Law Review
B.A., Washington University in St. Louis, 1983

Research

  • Arbitration
  • Dispute resolution
  • Federalism

Admitted

D.C. 1988

Career History

Clerk, Chief Judge Charles Clark, U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, 1986-87; Associate, Arnold & Porter, DC, 1987-88; Clerk, Justice Byron R. White, U.S. Supreme Court, 1988-89; Clerk, George H. Aldrich, Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1989-91; Associate, Sidley & Austin, DC, 1991-94; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1994-95; Associate Professor, 1995-2000; Professor, 2000-2006; Consortium Professor, London, 2001; John M. Rounds Professor since 2006; Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development 2009-16; Mason Ladd Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law University of Iowa College of Law, Fall 2015 & Fall 2018.

Teaching

Contracts, Commercial Arbitration, Trusts and Estates

Selected Publications

  • "Restatement of the U.S. Law of Commercial and Investor-State Arbitration" (Am. L. Instit.)(2023)(with G. Bermann, J. Coe & C. Rogers)
  • “Empirical Findings on International Arbitration: An Overview,” in Oxford Handbook of International Arbitration 643 (2020)
  • “Principles of Contract Law” (West Publishing) (5th ed. 2018) (with S. Burton)
  • "Sticky Arbitration Clauses? The Use of Arbitration Clauses After Concepcion and Amex," 67 Vanderbilt Law Review 955 (2014) (with P. Rutledge)
  • “The Essential Role of Courts for Supporting Innovation,” 92 Texas Law Review 2177 (2014) (with E. O’Hara O’Connor)
  • "Commercial Arbitration: Cases and Problems" (Lexis Nexis Publishing) (3d ed. 2013)
  • "Arbitration Clauses in Credit Card Agreements: An Empirical Study," 9 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 536 (2012) (with P. Rutledge)
  • "Towards a Science of International Arbitration: Collected Empirical Research" (Kluwer Law International) (2005) (with R. Naimark)
  • "A Behavioral Analysis of Private Judging," 67 Law & Contemporary Problems 105 (2004)
  • "Federal Arbitration Act Preemption," 79 Indiana Law Journal 393 (2004)
  • "The Economics of Litigation and Arbitration: An Application to Franchise Contracts," 32 Journal of Legal Studies 549 (2003)(with K. Hylton)

Memberships

Phi Beta Kappa; Order of the Coif; American Law Institute.