Cosgrove (history, U. of Arizona) traces the gradual divorce of legal theory from legal history since the 18th century, and argues that in the 20th century it has become more narrow and elitist the more theorists strive to make it relevant to legal practice. The solution, he says, is for jurisprudence to return to its interdisciplinary roots and draw from the insights of economics, politics, and sociology. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Legal Scholar’s Guidebook demystifies academic legal writing by providing concrete advice on topic selection, research strategies, and analytical frameworks. It is an essential resource for any serious legal scholar. Nascent scholars will find it a reassuring guide through a demanding process and experienced scholars will find it a source of encouragement. Wherever you are on your scholarly journey, the Guidebook is your compass. Scholars will benefit from: Chapter Brainstorms that contain Questions guiding entry into stages of the research and writing process. Squelch the Impostor tips that include advice to manage stress inherent at each stage of the research and writing process. Specific assignments to methodically guide the scholar through each stage. Examples, Guides, and Checklists that provide samples to help the scholar understand expectations at each stage.

A comprehensive introduction to Chinese legal scholarship and the scholars who developed the new Communist legal system during the initial decades of the PRC when the old system was abolished by the newly established Communist government. Through their scholarship, we see where the field of Chinese legal studies came from and where it is going.

Previous efforts at legal development have focused almost exclusively on state legal systems, many of which have shown little improvement over time. Recently, organizations engaged in legal development activities have begun to pay greater attention to the implications of local, informal, indigenous, religious, and village courts or tribunals, which often are more efficacious than state legal institutions, especially in rural communities. Legal pluralism is the term applied to these situations because these institutions exist alongside official state legal systems, usually in a complex or uncertain relationship. Although academics, especially legal anthropologists and sociologists, have discussed legal pluralism for decades, their work has not been consulted in the development context. Similarly, academics have failed to benefit from the insights of development practitioners. This book brings together, in a single volume, contributions from academics and practitioners to explore the implications of legal pluralism for legal development. All of the practitioners have extensive experience in development projects, the academics come from a variety of backgrounds, and most have written extensively on legal pluralism and on development.

Recent years have seen social justice emerge as a powerful driver for work, both in law schools and the legal services sector. However, questions remain about how that term is understood and given meaning within the legal academy and beyond. This edited collection explores the meanings that have emerged and might subsequently be developed, together with a practical exploration of projects that have sought to bring the social justice agenda to life in law schools and in communities around the world. Over the course of eighteen chapters, this volume engages with a range of social justice and legal education themes, including clinical legal education, innocence projects, access to justice, cause lawyering, LGBTQ identities, and sustainability in law schools. In addition, it also explores themes of ethics and values in contemporary legal education in Africa, Australia, North America, and the UK.

This book provides a counter-balance to the traditional focus on judicial decisions by exploring the contribution of legal scholars to the development of private law. In the book the work of a selection of leading scholars of contract law from across the common law world, ranging from Sir Jeffrey Gilbert (1674–1726) to Professor Brian Coote (1929–2019), is addressed by legal historians and current scholars in the field. The focus is on the nature of the work produced by the scholars in question, important influences on their work, and the impact which that work in turn had on thinking about contract law. The book also includes an introductory chapter and an afterword by Professor William Twining that explore connections between the scholars and recurrent themes. The process of subjecting contract law scholarship to sustained analysis provides new insights into the intellectual development of contract law and reveals the central role played by scholars in that process. And by focusing attention on the work of influential contract scholars, the book serves to emphasise the importance of legal scholarship to the development of the common law more generally.

The publication of Scholars of Tort Law marks the beginning of a long overdue rebalancing of private law scholarship. Instead of concentrating on judicial decisions and academic commentary only for what that commentary says about judicial decisions, the book explores the contributions of scholars of tort law in their own right. The work of a selection of leading scholars of tort law from across the common law world, ranging from Thomas Cooley (1824–1898) to Patrick Atiyah (1931–2018), is addressed by eminent current scholars in the field. The focus of the contributions is on the nature of the work produced by each of the scholars in question, important influences on their work, and the influence which that work in turn had on thinking about tort law. The process of subjecting tort law scholarship to sustained analysis provides new insights into the intellectual development of tort law and reveals the important role played by scholars in that development. By focusing on the work of influential tort scholars, the book serves to emphasise the importance of legal scholarship to the development of the common law more generally.

Law is a moving system of rules that changes according to a nation’s political and socioeconomic development. To understand the law of the People’s Republic of China today, it is imperative to learn the history and philosophy of the law when it was first shaped. This is a comprehensive introduction to Chinese legal scholarship and the prominent scholars who developed it during the initial decades of the PRC, when the old Chinese legal system was abolished by the newly established Communist government. With responsibilities for full-scale recovery and reconstruction, while cultivating entirely new disciplines and branches of legal studies, the thirty-three leading legal scholars featured herein became the creators, pioneers, and teachers of the new Communist legal system. Through their scholarship, we can see where the field of Chinese legal studies came from, and where it is going. Nongji Zhang reveals the stories of the most prominent PRC legal scholars, including their backgrounds, scholarly contributions, and important works. This essential tool and resource for the study of Chinese law will be of great use to faculty, students, scholars, librarians, and anyone interested in the field.