Quantifying change in legal standards|in the sense of change in the propensity of judges to decide cases a certain way presents a vexing problem. In response to a change in the behavior of courts, plaintiff s and defendants will adjust their patterns of filing and settling cases. Models of the selection of disputes for litigation predict that when legal standards change, the rate at which plainti ffs prevail in litigation will not predictably change; if so, changes in legal standards cannot...
