Squid Pro Quo: The Law of Squid Game

Netflix's 2021 hit Squid Game depicts a winner-take-all battle, where contestants are gassed, kidnapped, and forced to fight to the death. From this description alone, it is abundantly clear that the Squid Games are illegal. But once one looks past the obvious, there is a host of challenging legal issues relating to criminal liability, investment regulation, and personal liberty.  

This program will address the legal issues raised by Squid Game, and will explain why questions that seem to have easy answers are far more complex than they first appear. This program will also explore the surprising legal history of tontines, which are the most on-point example of a legal, real-world squid game. Along the way, participants will learn how fact patterns like those in Squid Game can help lawyers hone their creative thinking and improve their issue-spotting.

Learning Objectives:

1. Break down the criminal and civil issues that would arise from a real-life squid game
2. Analyze the legal history surrounding squid games and their real-life analogue, the tontine
3. Use Squid Game as a vehicle to jumpstart creative legal thinking, and explore how lawyers can use bizarre fact patterns to motivate and improve issue-spotting in daily practice