Charles M. Silver
- Roy W. and Eugenia C. McDonald Endowed Chair of Civil Procedure
- Professor

Charles Silver teaches courses on civil procedure, health law, and professional responsibility. His current research focuses on aggregate lawsuits, attorneys’ fees, professional responsibility, and health care law and policy. He previously worked with a group of empirical researchers on studies of medical malpractice litigation in Texas for over a decade. Professor Silver has authored several publications, including his most recent books “Medical Malpractice Litigation: How It Works, What It Does, And Why Tort Reform Hasn’t Helped” and “Overcharged: Why Americans Pay Too Much for Health Care.”
Featured Work
Charles Silver holds the Roy W. and Eugenia C. McDonald Endowed Chair of Civil Procedure at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. His research focuses on aggregate lawsuits (including class actions and other mass proceedings), attorneys’ fees (including contractual compensation arrangements, common fund fee awards, and statutory fee awards), professional responsibility (focusing on lawyers involved in civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants), and health care law and policy (with an emphasis on the payment system). For over a decade, he worked with a group of empirical researchers on studies of medical malpractice litigation in Texas. He served as an Associate Reporter on the Principles of Aggregate Litigation, which the American Law Institute published in 2010. His recent books are Overcharged: Why Americans Pay Too Much For Health Care (Cato Inst. 2018), coauthored with David A. Hyman, and Medical Malpractice Litigation: How It Works—Why Tort Reform Hasn’t Helped (Cato Inst. 2021), coauthored with Bernard S. Black, David A. Hyman, Myungho Paik, and William M. Sage.
No publications or activities matching the current search and filters.
year-2016
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Article
Medical Malpractice Litigation and the Market for Plaintiff-Side Representation: Evidence from Illinois
Charles M. Silver, David A. Hyman, Mohammad Rahmati, Bernard S. Black. “Medical Malpractice Litigation and the Market for Plaintiff-Side Representation: Evidence from Illinois.” In 13 J. Empirical Legal Stud., Page 603 (November 17, 2016). -
Book
Health Law and Economics, Vols. I and II
Charles M. Silver. Health Law and Economics, Vols. I and II (edited by coedited with Ronen Avraham and David A. Hyman). (Edward Elgar, 2016). -
Article
Insurance Crisis or Liability Crisis? Medical Malpractice Claiming in Illinois, 1980-2010
Charles M. Silver, Bernard S. Black, David A. Hyman, and Mohammad H. Rahmati. “Insurance Crisis or Liability Crisis? Medical Malpractice Claiming in Illinois, 1980-2010.” In 13 J. Empirical Legal Stud, Page 183 (May 11, 2016). -
Article
Compensating Persons Injured by Medical Malpractice and Other Tortious Behavior for Future Medical Expenses Under the Affordable Care Act
Charles M. Silver, Maxwell J. Mehlman, Jay Angoff, Patrick A. Malone, and Peter H. Weinberger. “Compensating Persons Injured by Medical Malpractice and Other Tortious Behavior for Future Medical Expenses Under the Affordable Care Act.” In 25 Annals of Health Law, Page 35 (April 28, 2016). -
Article
The DOMA Sideshow
Charles M. Silver. “The DOMA Sideshow.” In U of Texas Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 662, (February 4, 2016). View online. -
Article
The Treatment of Insurers’ Defense-Related Responsibilities in the Principles of the Law of Liability Insurance: A Critique
Charles M. Silver, The Treatment of Insurers’ Defense-Related Responsibilities in the Principles of the Law of Liability Insurance: A Critique, 68 Rutgers University Law Review 83 (2015) (with William T. Barker). -
Article
Forward to Economics of Health Law (Economic Approached to Law Series)
Ronen Avraham, Charles M. Silver, David Hyman, Forward to Economics of Health Law (Economic Approached to Law Series) (Two Volume Set) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) pp1320.
year-2015
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Article
Is the Price Right? An Empirical Study of Fee-Setting in Securities Class Actions
Charles M. Silver, Is the Price Right? An Empirical Study of Fee-Setting in Securities Class Actions, 115 Columbia Law Review 1371 (2015) (with Lynn A. Baker & Michael A. Perino). -
Article
The Economics of Plaintiff-Side Personal Injury Practice
Charles M. Silver, The Economics of Plaintiff-Side Personal Injury Practice, 2015 University of Illinois Law Review 1563 (2015) (with David A. Hyman & Bernard Black). -
Article
Policy Limits, Payouts, and Blood Money: Medical Malpractice Settlements in the Shadow of Insurance
Charles M. Silver, Policy Limits, Payouts, and Blood Money: Medical Malpractice Settlements in the Shadow of Insurance, 5 UC Irvine Law Review 559 (2015) (with David A. Hyman, Bernard S. Black, & Myungho Paik). -
Article
Does Tort Reform Affect Physician Supply? Evidence from Texas
Charles M. Silver, Does Tort Reform Affect Physician Supply? Evidence from Texas, 42 International Review of Law & Economics 203 (2015) (with David A. Hyman, Bernard Black & Myungho Paik).
year-2014
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Article
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: Justice-Talk and the Future of Medical Malpractice Litigation
Charles M. Silver, Double, Double, Toil and Trouble: Justice-Talk and the Future of Medical Malpractice Litigation, 63 DePaul Law Review 547 (2014) (with David A. Hyman). -
Article
Litigation Funding Versus Liability Insurance: What’s the Difference?
Charles M. Silver, Litigation Funding Versus Liability Insurance: What’s the Difference?, 63 DePaul Law Review 617 (2014). -
Article
Regulation of Fee Awards in the Fifth Circuit
Charles M. Silver, Regulation of Fee Awards in the Fifth Circuit [Symposium: Litigating in Federal Court] 67 The Advocate 36 (2014).
year-2013
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Book
Law of Class Actions and Other Aggregate Litigation
Charles M. Silver, Law of Class Actions and Other Aggregate Litigation (St. Paul: Foundation Press, 2nd ed. 2013) (with Richard Nagareda, Robert Bone, Elizabeth Burch, & Patrick Woolley).
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Article
Five Myths of Medical Malpractice
Charles M. Silver, Five Myths of Medical Malpractice, 143 Chest 222 (2013) (with David A. Hyman).
year-2012
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Article
Will Tort Reform Bend the Cost Curve? Evidence from Texas
Charles M. Silver, Will Tort Reform Bend the Cost Curve? Evidence from Texas, 9 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 173 (2012) (with Mungho Paik, Bernard S. Black, & David A. Hyman). -
Book
Professional Responsibilities of Insurance Defense Counsel
Charles M. Silver, Professional Responsibility of Insurance Defense Counsel (Newark: Matthew Bender 2012) (with William T. Barker).
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Book Chapter
Justice Has (Almost) Nothing to Do With It: Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform
Charles M. Silver, Justice Has (Almost) Nothing to Do With It: Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform, in Medicine and Social Justice, 531 (Rosamond Rhodes, Margaret P. Battin, & Anita Silvers, eds., Oxford University Press, 2012).
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Article
How Do the Elderly Fare in Medical Malpractice Litigation, Before and After Tort Reform? Evidence from Texas
Charles M. Silver, How Do the Elderly Fare in Medical Malpractice Litigation, Before and After Tort Reform? Evidence from Texas, 14 American Law & Economic Review 561 (2012) (with Bernard Black, David A. Hyman, Myungho Paik, and William Sage).
spring 2026
- Health Law
- SMNR: Topics in Professional Responsibility