Soft Law Curriculum

The industry self-regulation, or soft law, curriculum has been designed for graduate programs, specifically for law, business, and public policy schools. The curriculum explores the conditions that allow self-regulation to flourish, identifies where it has and has not worked, and examines new potential use cases.  
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Curriculum Overview

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to industry self-regulation—voluntary, industry-led governance mechanisms that address legal, ethical, and societal challenges. 

It examines:

  • How businesses set standards that influence or become legal norms.
  • The interplay between industry self-regulation practitioners and government regulators.
  • The opportunities and limitations of soft law mechanisms as an alternative or complement to traditional regulation.

 

Why should you consider offering this course at your law school?

  • All materials, including lecture slides, case studies, and assignments are designed to be plug-and-play, saving you time while offering a polished, professional course.
  • Guest lecture opportunities by industry experts and regulators add depth and engagement for students.
  • The course is designed to meet the growing demand for professionals who can work across disciplines to address modern regulatory and societal challenges.
  • The curriculum is modular and adaptable, with content that can be seamlessly integrated into existing courses such as administrative law, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, legal ethics, antitrust law, insurance, and intellectual property.

Learning outcomes include:


  • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of various soft law and self-regulatory approaches, and the factors and contexts in which such programs are most likely to succeed.  

  • Identify various types of soft law programs and which options may be most relevant for your future clients.  

  • Recognize opportunities where soft law programs can help address problems your client faces.  

  • Understand various tools available to make soft law programs more effective and credible.  

  • Anticipate the various ways that soft law and hard law can interact  

  • Comprehend the antitrust, intellectual property, contractual, corporate law and liability implications of soft law programs. 


As this curriculum is used in graduate programs across the country, new resources and materials will be added as they become available. Regarding implementation, please contact us at programs@industryselfregulation.org at any time to request a consultation.  

Curriculum Materials

ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is pilot testing the curriculum Spring 2025. Eleven graduate programs in law, business, and public policy from across the United States will participate in the review and evaluation of the curriculum, adapting it as necessary.

Law School Curriculum Materials

The law school course contains 12 flexible modules that can be seamlessly integrated into existing law classes, providing students with essential insights into alternative forms of governance that shape modern legal practice.  

All modules provide a slide deck (PPT) and reading assignments (PDF). 

  • Module 1 - Introduction & Conceptual Overview: An introduction to soft law and various types of soft law programs. 

  • Module 2 - When to Adopt Soft Law: The pros and cons of soft law vs hard law and describes contexts in which soft law has been found to be most appropriate.  

  • Module 3 - Private Standards: Discussion of SSOs and consortia models.  

  • Module 4 - Standards, IP, and Anti-Trust: Legal issues with private standards.  

  • Module 5 - Case Studies: Explores the rationale and practical implications of self-regulation through real-world case studies.  

  • Module 6 - Trade Associations and Societies: The role trade associations and professional societies play in bolstering soft law.  

  • Module 7 – Role of the FTC: Outlines the longstanding role of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in consumer protection, exploring its cases and motivations.  

  • Module 8 – International Soft Law: A case study on neurotechnologies explores global emerging tech challenges, international agreements, and more.  

  • Module 9 – Multi-Stakeholder Governance: Outlines the structure and benefit of multi-stakeholder governance using organizational examples and case studies. 

  • Module 10 – Soft Law & Liability: Litigation implications of participation in soft law programs using an autonomous vehicle case study.  

  • Module 11 – Government Voluntary Programs: An overview of government-run voluntary programs, negotiated agreements, delegated regulation, and more.  

  • Module 12 – AI, Indirect Enforcement, & Hard vs Soft Law: Unique AI concerns, the indirect enforcement of soft law, and interactions between hard and soft law.  

Business School Materials

Original business and public policy case studies can be added into existing business and public policy coursework, such as non-market strategy, business ethics, and legal or regulatory strategy classes. 

  • Entertainment Software Rating Board Case Study: This case study examines the creation of the ESRB and how industry self-regulation helped address concerns about video game content while avoiding government regulation. 

  • McDonald’s Case Study: This case study examines how McDonald’s used voluntary sustainability initiatives to address environmental concerns and the limits of self-regulation in achieving climate goals. 

  • Neora and the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council: This case study uses the Neora litigation to explore FTC oversight of MLM practices and the role of self-regulation in the direct selling industry. 

Public Policy School Materials

Coming soon!

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Project Support

This project was made possible through the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation.