The Political Economy of Private Legislatures

A large amount of American law originates with private lawmaking groups. This Article considers two of these groups, the American Law Institute (the "ALI") and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws ("NCCUSL"). The ALI is a self-perpetuating organization of lawyers,judges, and academics. Its primary function is to promulgate restatements of law. These restatements are sets of rules, organized by subject matter, the content of which is partly a function of the case law but also is a function of the ALI's collective view respecting which legal rules are normatively desirable for courts to apply. Restatement rules do not have binding force but are advisory to courts. Inclusion of a rule in a restatement, however, is widely thought to increase the likelihood that courts will follow it.