International Policy Network (International Center for Law & Economics)

The International Policy Network London

The International Policy Network (IPN) (formerly called the Atlas Economic Research Foundation UK) was a London-based think tank that produced research and educational materials, and organized conferences and seminars supporting the ideals of a free society, namely limited government, property rights, rule of law, free markets, and free speech. ³ Julian Morris, a co-founder and former director of policy and outreach at IPN is a senior scholar and member of the board of the International Center for Law and Economics. ⁴

The International Policy Network was founded in 1971 and ceased operations in 2011. ⁵

The International Center for Law and Economics

The International Center for Law and Economics develops and distributes academic research in support of more rigorous and economically sensible public policy. ICLE’s primary activity is organizing, networking, and managing its staff, affiliated scholars, and global research centers. Additionally, ICLE develops research programs, provides policy analysis, and organizes conferences. ¹

The International Center for Law and Economics research programs include Antitrust and Consumer Protection, Data Security and Privacy, Financial Regulation and Corporate Governance, Innovation and The New Economy, Intellectual Property and Licensing, and Telecommunications and Regulated Utilities. ¹

In March 2024, recent publications from ICLE scholars and its affiliates included articles addressing issues like the effects of the Biden Administration’s Department of Labor’s new rule limiting independent contractors; how the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine mandates had increased the public’s vaccine hesitancy; the consequences of the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed reclassification of broadband internet-access service as a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act; and the importance of gender and racial diversity in corporate governance. ⁶

ICLE developed its Next Generation Scholars program to grow the community of scholars in the law and economics movement. The program aims to support and foster the development of these new scholars by identifying and promoting their work and allowing for engagement with the established community of scholars who follow this intellectual tradition of law and economics. ICLE is also documenting the early history of the law and economics movement, which was pioneered by people like Ronald Coase, George Stigler, Vernon Smith, Henry Manne, Harold Demsetz, and others. ⁷

Funding

The International Center for Law and Economics is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While ICLE does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Charles Koch Institute ($592,000 in 2021), ⁸ the Sarah Scaife Foundation ($125,000 in 2022), ⁹ and the Computer and Communications Industry Association ($100,000 in 2022). ¹⁰

People

Staff

Ian Adams is the executive director of the International Center for Law and Economics and a public policy attorney at the international law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Adams formerly worked as vice president of policy at TechFreedom and as associate vice president of government affairs at the R Street Institute. ¹¹

Ben Sperry is a senior scholar of innovation policy at ICLE. Sperry is a former legal fellow at TechFreedom and a former research associate and Google Policy Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. ¹²

R.J. Lehmann is editor-in-chief and a senior fellow at ICLE. Lehmann is a co-founder of the R Street Institute and formerly worked as its director of finance, insurance, and trade policy. Lehmann is a deputy director of the Heartland Institute’s Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate and a former public affairs director of the Independent Institute. ¹³

Kristian Stout is director of innovation policy at ICLE. Stout is a former fellow at both the Internet Law and Policy Foundry and the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Stout formerly sat on the board of the New Jersey Leadership Program, on the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee for the Federal Communications Commission, and as chair of the Asset Forfeiture Working Group for the New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. ¹⁴

Board of Directors

Geoffrey A. Manne is the president and founder of the International Center for Law and Economics and a distinguished fellow at Northwestern University’s Center on Law, Business, and Economics. Manne is a former law professor at Lewis and Clark Law School and formerly worked in the legal department at Microsoft. Manne served on both the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee and Consumer Advisory Committee. ¹⁵

Tad Lipsky is the director of the Competition Advocacy Program at the Global Antitrust Institute. Lipsky formerly worked as co-chair of the transition team for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after the election of former President Donald Trump, as acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, and as deputy assistant attorney general under William F. Baxter. Lipsky is a former chief antitrust lawyer for the  Coca-Cola Company and a former co-chair of the International Competition Policy Working Group of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ¹⁶

Thomas A. Lambert is an academic affiliate and member of the board of ICLE. Lambert is the Wall Chair in Corporate Law and Governance and professor of law at the University of Missouri School of Law. ¹⁷

Julian Morris is a senior scholar and member of the board of ICLE. Morris is a co-founder of the International Policy Network in London, a former vice president of research at the Reason Foundation, and a former director of the environment and technology program at the Institute of Economic Affairs. ⁴