Repeat players can draft contracts and structure disputes to advantage themselves.
Evidence
RP versus OS and OS versus RP Repeat players enjoy significant advantages in their disputes with one-shotters. Expecting some conflicts in their transactions with one-shotters, repeat players can structure the law at the outset to place themselves at an advantage. As Galanter observes, “It is the RP who writes the form contract, requires the security deposit, and the like,” and one-shotters seldom seek to renegotiate the requirements. Moreover, repeat players do not share the one-shotters’ concerns about litigating: They understand the process and have sufficient experience to calculate their chances of success. Unlike oneshotters, repeat players usually have hired or retained lawyers, and so their startup costs for litigating are minimal. Because of this ongoing relationship, the repeat players’ lawyers tend to be specialists in the field, whereas those chosen by one-shotters often are not. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1122
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the repeat player vs. one-shotter distinction central to Galanter’s litigation framework.
- XREF: Connects to the course’s institutional study of how structural advantages bias litigation outcomes. — connects to: Repeat players shape law itself to secure long-term advantage beyond winning individual cases. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1121; Repeat players lobby legislatures and draft contracts to shape favorable law. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2282; Repeat players’ specialist counsel and litigation experience give them structural advantages. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2287 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Litigants divide into occasional one-shotters and frequent repeat players who learn the system
#expands(0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2258 - Repeat players’ specialist counsel and litigation experience give them structural advantages.
#expands(0.88) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2287 - Repeat players lobby legislatures and draft contracts to shape favorable law.
#expands(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2282 - Ongoing business relationships push repeat players to resolve disputes outside courts.
#qualifies(0.72) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2267