| Message | SAN DIEGO, March 24, 2009 — University of San Diego School of Law Professor Orly Lobel was awarded a grant from the Southern California Innovation Project. Lobel’s research titled, “Human Capital in Action: Post Employment Restrictions & Innovations,” studies employment intellectual property effects on innovation.
The research will include both lab and field studies aimed to offer fundamental insights on how to configure optimal incentive structures for R&D and market innovation. While companies increasingly demand from their creative workers to sign non-disclosure and non-compete agreements, there is currently little knowledge on how such contracts affect levels of innovation, creativity, and competition. Moreover, there is great variation among jurisdictions in the interpretation of such contracts. Understanding the likely effects on information control and dissemination in the context of employment relations is critical for market innovation and development. The project will investigate how different contractual and legal arrangements affect individual decision-making to compete with former employers, to act strategically in inventive ventures, and to share information with others in lab-based simulations.
Orly Lobel writes and teaches in the areas of employment law, administrative law, legal theory, torts, consumer law and trade secrets. Prior to coming to USD, she taught at Yale Law School and served as a fellow at the Harvard University Center for Ethics and the Professions, the Kennedy School of Government's Hauser Center for Non-Profit Research, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. A graduate of Tel Aviv University Law School, she clerked on the Israeli Supreme Court and did her graduate studies at Harvard Law School. Prior to law school, she served as an intelligence commander in the Israel Defense Forces. Her current research focuses on new models of law and governance in the context of the new economy, the labor market, privatization and new public management techniques.
About the University of San Diego School of Law
The University of San Diego School of Law is a center of academic excellence focused on preparing its students for legal practice in the new century. One of the most selective law schools in the country, the School of Law's nationally recognized faculty create a demanding, yet welcoming environment that emphasizes individualized education. USD law school graduates consistently score higher than the state average on the California Bar Exam and go on to practice law throughout the country and abroad, forming an influential network of alumni. The USD School of Law is one of only 81 law schools in the country to have a chapter of The Order of the Coif, the most distinguished rank of American law schools. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949. Please visit the Web site at www.law.sandiego.edu for more information. |
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