Dr Haward Soper

I am a retired commercial and contracts professional. In a 35 year career I worked in local regional and global positions with an emphasis on the analysis negotiation and execution (including the occasional dispute management role) of contracts. My work was broad and included facilities management airport baggage handling nuclear fuel handling coal and ash handling steam and gas turbines compressors and other high speed rotating machinery. In my favourite role I headed up a global department of 60+ contract experts for Siemens 6Bn Euro Oil and Gas division. I am a Scot who has become a Leicester citizen over the last 34 years since I moved here to work at GEC's Whetstone site. I studied Law at the University of Dundee and then undertook an MPhil here in Leicester to improve my understanding of the common law of contract

My research is multi-pronged but focusses on contract law. I prefer real-world research examining the lived experience of real participants in the contracting process to underpin my critique of current contract law and theory. I have also done a little so far unpublished work on decision making building on previous work on sunk cost theory in an effort to show that focussing experimental work on students is not a good idea and results are likely to be unrealistic. 

My book Commercial Expectations and Cooperation in Symbiotic Contracts - a Legal and Empirical Analysis

The Journal of Business Law will publish an article on the High Court's relational contract jurisprudence this year (2021) - Occama's Razor or Leggatta's Multiblade - Good Faith or a Clean Shave?

The New Law Journal published an article of mine calling for statutory adjudication to be made more widely available - also in 2021

Any work on contract theory especially where empirical work is involved

Nudge theory Empirical work on contract commercial expectations on contract cooperation in contract

Presented paper to International Association of Commercial and Contract Management conference at the University of Leeds in early 2020. This was a case study of expert reaction to a contract dispute

LLB MPhil PhD. Pre retirement FCIPS and MCIArb