Kimberly D. Krawiec

  • Charles O. Gregory Professor of Law
  • Sullivan and Cromwell Professor of Law

Personal Website

Kim Krawiec’s current research analyzes “taboo trades” — exchanges that are contested by society and, in some cases, forbidden altogether. She has written on commercial surrogacy, egg and sperm markets, and sex work. At the moment, much of her work is on incentives for organ donation. Although financial incentives are part of the menu, she is most interested in nonfinancial incentives, such as kidney swaps, NEAD chains and priority systems that provide an incentive to donate. Krawiec hosts the podcast “Taboo Trades.”

Another area of her research centers on the regulation of financial markets and business organizations. Krawiec has extensively examined the administrative process surrounding the Volcker Rule, a complex and highly contested provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. She has also researched corporate boards of directors. Through an ethnographic method, this work analyzes directors’ views on the workings of the corporate boardroom and board relations with management, with a special emphasis on directors’ views on race and gender diversity in the boardroom.

Prior to joining academia, Krawiec was a member of the commodity and derivatives group at the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell. She has served as a commentator for the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI) of the American Bar Association and on the faculty of the National Association of Securities Dealers Institute for Professional Development at the Wharton School of Business. She earned her juris doctorate from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University.

Krawiec also has taught law at Duke Law School, the University of North Carolina, Harvard and Northwestern, where she received the 1999-2000 Robert Childres Award for Teaching Excellence.

Education

  • J.D.
    Georgetown University Law Center
    1992
  • B.A.
    North Carolina State University
    1987

Forthcoming

Gametes: Commodification and The Fertility Industry, in Routledge Handbook of Commodification, Routledge (2023).

Works in Progress

Incentivizing Witness Cooperation (with Phillip J. Cook) (2023).
Vice Capital (with Andrew Jennings) (2023).

Book Chapters

Organ Entrepreneurs (with Kieran Healy), in The Cambridge Handbook of Law and Entrepreneurship in the United States, Cambridge University Press, 268–282 (2022).
The Ethical Limits of Markets, in Research Handbook on the Philosophy of Contract Law, Edward Elgar Publishing (2022).
Introduction (edited with Edward J. Balleisen, Lori S. Bennear & Jonathan Baert Wiener), in Edward J. Balleisen, Lori S. Bennear, & Jonathan Baert Wiener, eds., Policy Shock: Recalibrating Risk and Regulation After Oil Spills, Nuclear Accidents, and Financial Crises, Cambridge University Press, xvi - xviii (2017).
Diversity and Talent at the Top: Lessons From the Boardroom (with Lissa L. Broome & John M. Conley), in Diversity in Practice: Race, Gender, and Class in Legal and Professional Careers, Cambridge University Press, 37–80 (2016).
Operational Risk Management: An Emergent Industry, in Operational Risk Towards Basel III: Best Practices and Issues in Modeling, Management and Regulation , Wiley, 271 (2013).
Narratives of Diversity in the Corporate Boardroom: What Corporate Insiders Say about Why Diversity Matters (with Lissa L. Broome & John M. Conley), in Discourse Perspectives on Organizational Communication , Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 201–224 (2012).
Price and Pretense in the Baby Market, in Baby Markets: Money and the New Politics of Creating Families, Cambridge University Press, 41–55 (2010).

Articles & Reviews

Markets, repugnance, and externalities, Journal of Institutional Economics 1–12 (2022).
Criminal, Legal, and Ethical Kidney Donation and Transplantation: A Conceptual Framework to Enable Innovation (with Alvin E. Roth, Ignazio R. Marino & Michael A. Rees), 35 Transplant International 22–24 (2022).
Forword: Sex in Law (with Doriane Lambelet Coleman), 85 Law and Contemporary Problems 1–8 (2022).
No Money Allowed, 2022 University of Chicago Legal Forum 221–240 (2022).
Global kidney exchange should expand wisely (with Alvin E. Roth et al.), 33 Transplant International 985–988 (2020).
Kidney Donation and the Consent of the Poor (with Philip J. Cook), 66 Loyola Law Review 23–32 (2020).
Kidneys Without Money, 175 Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 4–19 (2019).
Let’s Talk: What FinReg Can Learn From New Governance (And Vice Versa), 44 Law & Social Inquiry 1241–1250 (2019).
Complete Chain of the First Global Kidney Exchange Transplant and 3-yr Follow-up (with Danielle N. Bozek & et al.), 4 European Urology Focus 190–197 (2018).
Does Contract Law Need Morality? (with Wenhao Liu), 9 William & Mary Business Law Review 435–448 (2018).
Foreword: Altruism, Community, and Markets (with Julia D. Mahoney & Sally L. Satel), 81 Law & Contemporary Problems 1–8 (2018).
Global Kidney Exchange: An International Approach to Expanding Living Donor Kidney Transplantation in Minority Groups (with et al.), 199 The Journal of Urology e548 (2018).
If We Allow Football Players and Boxers to Be Paid for Entertaining the Public, Why Don't We Allow Kidney Donors to Be Paid for Saving Lives? (with Philip J. Cook), 81 Law & Contemporary Problems 9–36 (2018).
If We Pay Football Players, Why Not Kidney Donors? (with Philip J. Cook), 41 Regulation 12–17 (2018).
Contract Development in a Matching Market: The Case of Kidney Exchange (with Wenhao Liu & Marc L. Melcher), 80 Law & Contemporary Problems 11–36 (2017).
Foreword: How to Think About Law and Markets (with Joseph Blocher), 80 Law & Contemporary Problems 1–10 (2017).
Foreword: Sex in Sport (with Doriane Lambelet Coleman), 80 Law & Contemporary Problems 1–6 (2017).
Kidney Exchange to Overcome Financial Barriers to Kidney Transplantation (with al. et), 17 American Journal of Transplantation 782–790 (2017).
Law and Markets (edited with Joseph Blocher), 80 Law and Contemporary Problems (2017).
Repugnance Management and Transactions in the Body (with Kieran Healy), 107 American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings 2017 86–90 (2017).
Sex in Sport (edited with Doriane Lambelet Coleman), 80 Law and Contemporary Problems (2017).
Lessons from Law About Incomplete Commodification in the Egg Market, 33 Journal of Applied Philosophy 160–177 (2016).
How Can the Shortage of Kidneys for Transplantation be Rectified?   (with Philip J. Cook), Medical Law Perspectives (2015).
Markets, Morals, and Limits in the Exchange of Human Eggs, 13 Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 349–366 (2015).
The Volcker Rule: A Brief Political History (with Guangya Liu), 10 Capital Markets Law Journal 507–522 (2015).
A Difficult Conversation: Corporate Directors on Race and Gender (with Lissa L. Broome & John M. Conley), 26 Pace International Law Review 13–22 (2014).
A Primer on Kidney Transplantation: Anatomy of the Shortage (with Philip J. Cook), 77 Law and Contemporary Problems 1–24 (2014).
Egg-Donor Price Fixing and Kamakahi v. American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 16 AMA Journal of Ethics (formerly Virtual Mentor) 57–62 (2014).
Foreword: Organs and Inducements (with Philip J. Cook), 77 Law and Contemporary Problems i-viii (2014).
Organs and Inducements (with Philip J. Cook), 77 Law and Contemporary Problems (2014).
Reverse Transplant Tourism (with Michael A. Rees), 77 Law and Contemporary Problems 145–174 (2014).
Agency Lobbying and Financial Reform: A Volcker Rule Case Study, 32 Banking & Financial Services Policy Report 15–22 (2013).
Don't 'Screw Joe the Plummer': The Sausage-Making of Financial Reform, 55 Arizona Law Review 53–104 (2013).
The Danger of Difference: Tensions in Directors' Views of Corporate Board Diversity (with Lissa L. Broome & John M. Conley), 2013 University of Illinois Law Review 919–958 (2013).
Custom, Contract, and Kidney Exchange (with Kieran Healy), 62 Duke Law Journal 645–670 (2012).
Dangerous Categories: Narratives of Corporate Board Diversity (with Lissa L. Broome & John M. Conley), 89 North Carolina Law Review 759–808 (2011).
Does Critical Mass Matter? Views from the Board Room (with Lissa Lamkin Broome & John M. Conley), 34 Seattle University Law Review 1049–1080 (2011).
Introduction: For Love or Money? Defining Relationships in Law and Life (with Marion Crain), 35 Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 1–10 (2011).
The Dark Side of Commodification Critiques: Politics and Elitism in Standardized Testing, 35 Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 349–362 (2011).
A Woman's Worth, 88 North Carolina Law Review 1739–1770 (2010).
Foreword: Show Me The Money: Making Markets in Forbidden Exchange, 72 Law and Contemporary Problems i-xiv (2009).
Altruism and Intermediation in the Market for Babies, 66 Washington & Lee Law Review 203–258 (2009).
Sunny Samaritans and Egomaniacs: Price-Fixing in the Gamete Market, 72 Law and Contemporary Problems 59–90 (2009).
The Return of the Rogue, 51 Arizona Law Review 127–174 (2009).
Why We Should Ignore the "Octomom", 104 Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy 120–131 (2009).
Signaling Through Board Diversity: Is Anyone Listening? (with Lissa Lamkin Broome), 77 University of Cincinnati Law Review 431–464 (2008).
Incomplete Contracts in a Complete Contract World (with Scott Baker), 33 Florida State University Law Review 725–756 (2006).
Common-Law Disclosure Duties and the Sin of Omission: Testing the Meta-Theories (with Kathryn Zeiler), 91 Virginia Law Review 1795–1888 (2005).
Organizational Form as Status and Signal, 40 Wake Forest Law Review 977–1010 (2005).
Organizational Misconduct: Beyond the Principal-Agent Model, 32 Florida State University Law Review 571–616 (2005).
The Economics of Limited Liability: An Empirical Study of New York Law Firms (with Scott Baker), 2005 University of Illinois Law Review 107–170 (2005).
The Penalty Default Canon (with Scott Baker), 72 George Washington Law Review 663–723 (2004).
Cosmetic Compliance and the Failure of Negotiated Governance, 81 Washington University Law Quarterly 487–544 (2003).
Derivatives on TV: A Tale of Two Derivatives Debacles in Prime-Time (with Peter H. Huang & Frank Partnoy), 4 Green Bag 257–267 (2001).
Fairness, Efficiency and Insider Trading: Deconstructing the Coin of the Realm in the Information Age, 95 Northwestern University Law Review 443–504 (2001).
Foreword: The Regulation of Derivatives and Other Complex Financial Products, 21 Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business 565–572 (2001).
Privatizing "Outsider Trading", 41 Virginia Journal of International Law 693–716 (2001).
Accounting for Greed: Unraveling the Rogue Trader Mystery, 79 Oregon Law Review 301–338 (2000).
Building the Basic Course Around Intra-Firm Relations, 34 Georgia Law Review 785–808 (2000).
SEC Promulgates New Insider Trading Rules (with Richard W. Painter), 15 BNA Corporate Counsel Weekly 8 (2000).
Derivatives, Corporate Hedging and Shareholder Wealth: Modigliani-Miller Forty Years Later, 1998 University of Illinois Law Review 1039–1104 (1998).
Don't Ask, Just Tell: Insider Trading After United States v. O'Hagan (with Richard M. Painter & Cynthia A. Williams), 84 Virginia Law Review 153–228 (1998).
Corporate Debt Restructurings in Mexico: For Foreign Creditors, Insolvency Law Is Only Half the Story, 17 New York Law School Journal of International and Comparative Law 481–486 (1997).
Fiduciaries, Misappropriators and the Murky Outlines of the Den of Thieves: A Conceptual Continuum for Analyzing United States v. O'Hagan, 33 Tulsa Law Journal 163–176 (1997).
More Than Just New Financial Bingo: A Risk-based Approach to Understanding Derivatives, 23 Journal of Corporation Law 1–64 (1997).
Gustafson v. Alloyd Co.: The Wrong Decision, But it is Still Business As Usual in the Securities Markets, 31 Tulsa Law Journal 509–520 (1996).
Electronic Surveillance, 79 Georgetown Law Journal 678–699 (1991).

Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works

Is Informed Consent Enough? (with W. Liu & M. L. Melcher), 16 American Journal of Transplantation 1038 (2016).
What Does Corporate Boardroom Diversity Accomplish?, The New York Times (April 1, 2015).

Current Courses

Blood Feud (SC)
Repugnant Transactions
Taboo Trades

All Courses

Business Associations
Advanced Contracts
Taboo Trades and Forbidden Exchanges

IN THE NEWS

02/27/2023
The Political Economy of Organ Transplantation With Hagai Boas (Taboo Trades)
01/31/2023
Bonus Episode: NFTs for Biobanking With Marielle Gross & Brian Frye (Taboo Trades)
12/30/2022
Clinical Research Ethics With Holly Fernandez Lynch (Taboo Trades)
12/15/2022
Are International Surrogates Exploited With Stephen Wilkinson (Taboo Trades)
11/29/2022
International Surrogacy With Stephen Wilkinson (Taboo Trades)
11/15/2022
Mary Anne Case on A Post-Dobbs Right to F*$# (Taboo Trades)
11/08/2022
Donorsexuality With Mary Anne Case (Taboo Trades)
10/28/2022
Peterson on Prisons, Part II (Taboo Trades)
10/21/2022
Prisons, Commodification, & Privatization with Jonathan Peterson (Taboo Trades)
10/12/2022
Breach By Violence: Sharecropper Litigation With Brittany Farr, Part II (Taboo Trades)
10/03/2022
Breach By Violence: Sharecropper Litigation With Brittany Farr (Taboo Trades)
09/18/2022
Specific Performance, Twitter, and Elon Musk With Nate Oman (Taboo Trades)
09/17/2022
Welcome to Season 3! (Taboo Trades)
08/06/2022
Bonus Episode: Ending the Kidney Shortage With Frank McCormick (Taboo Trades)
07/29/2022
Bonus Episode: The Plagiarism Taboo With Brian Frye (Taboo Trades)
07/18/2022
Bonus Episode: Taboo Children With Sean Williams (Taboo Trades)
04/24/2022
Getting Away With Taboo Trades With Gabriel Rossman, Pt. 1 (Taboo Trades)
04/16/2022
Kidneys With Sally Satel (Taboo Trades)
04/07/2022
Marijuana Legalization With Douglas Berman (Taboo Trades)
03/27/2022
Decommodification as Exploitation With Vida Panitch (Taboo Trades)
03/20/2022
Pandemics With Govind Persad (Taboo Trades)
03/03/2022
Bodies of Former Slaves With Fred Smith (Taboo Trades)
02/26/2022
Reproductive Markets With Kimberly Mutcherson (Taboo Trades)
02/08/2022
Kidney To Share With Martha Gershun and John Lantos (Taboo Trades)
02/01/2022
Repugnance With Al Roth (Taboo Trades)
11/15/2021
Kim Krawiec on Taboo Markets (The Private Law Podcast)

AT UVA LAW

‘Common Law’ S5 E1: Taboo Trades
‘Common Law’ Kicks Off Season With ‘Taboo’ Topic
New Courses This Fall Offer Different Looks at the Law
UVA Law Adds 17 High-Profile Academics. Twitter Hollers Back.
Kimberly Krawiec, Expert in Controversial Markets, To Join Faculty
‘Common Law’ S5 E1: Taboo Trades

Featured Scholarship