The John Kidwell Memorial Lecture is an annual event hosted by the Wisconsin Contracts Group featuring a paper focused on the law of contracts, remedies, copyrights, or trademarks. The lecture is hosted by Professors Kathie Hendley, Bill Whitford and Stewart Macaulay and is chaired by Professor Jonathan Lipson.
The lecture, first held in 2014, honors the memory of Professor John Kidwell (1945-2012) who taught at the UW Law School from 1972 until his retirement in 2005.
Kidwell collaborated with Professors Whitford and Macaulay to develop Wisconsin's unique approach to teaching Contract Law, reflected in their casebook, Contracts, Law in Action.
Professor John Kidwell
Upcoming Lecture
2022 Kidwell Lecture featuring Professor Rachel Rebouche, "Bargaining about Birth"
On March 4, 2022, Rachel Rebouche will present “Bargaining about Birth” (hybrid event) with comments by Carol Sanger.
Event resources:
Past Lectures
This annual lecture has featured prominent contract scholars from around the country:
- 2021: Cathy Hwang, "Collaborative Intent" (rescheduled from 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic) with comments by Mitu Gulati and Stewart Macaulay
- 2019: Claire Hill, "Anti-social Business Contracts" with comments by June Carbone
- 2018: Bill Whitford, "A Relational Perspective on Contract Law's Default Rules, with an Emphasis on Remedies"
- 2017: Matthew Jennejohn
- 2016: Jane Winn
- 2015: Lisa Bernstein
- 2014: Juliet Kostritsky, "What Lawyers Say Determines Choice of Law in Merger Agreements"
Wisconsin Contracts Group Members
The Wisconsin Contracts Group includes:
- University of Wisconsin emeritus faculty:
- Stewart Macaulay
- Bill Whitford
- Joseph Thome
- Marc Galanter
- Wisconsin Law faculty:
- Kathryn Hendley
- Mitra Sharafi
- Steph Thai
- Professor Jonathan Lipson of Temple University
The late John Kidwell was a founding member of the group.
Upcoming ILS Events
