Fact Pattern:

In their very influential article, Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: The Case of Divorce Download Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: The Case of Divorce, Professors Mnookin and Kornhauser state that:

This article suggests an alternative way of thinking about the role of law at the time of divorce. It is concerned primarily with the impact of the legal system on negotiations and bargaining that occur outside the courtroom....Divorcing parents do not bargain over the division of family wealth and custodial prerogatives in a vacuum; they bargain in the shadow of the law. The legal rules governing alimony, child support, marital property, and custody give each parent certain claims based on what each would get if the case went to trial. In other words, the outcome that the law will impose if no agreement is reached gives each parent certain bargaining chips--an endowment of sorts.

Questions:

• Please identify at least 2 other contexts in which parties "bargain in the shadow of the law."
  • You should choose:
    • One example involving bargaining between private parties and
    • One example involving bargaining between a private party and a regulator
  • Please describe how the relevant background legal rules can affect the parties'
    • Bargaining strategies
    • Bargaining power