The general standard of proof in civil litigation is preponderance of the evidence. To prevail, the plaintiff must establish the case with a probability exceeding .5. We argue that since litigants tend to take the status quo as the reference point, dismissal of a claim is likely to be perceived...

Building on Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory, this paper presents a series of experiments designed to reveal people's preferences regarding attorneys' fees. Contrary to common economic wisdom, it demonstrates that loss aversion (rather than risk aversion or incentivizing the lawyer to win...