The Expositor of Legal Culture and the History of Law: Pioneerism and the impact of Lawrence Friedman

Abstract

The following article provides a panorama of the work of Professor Lawrence Friedman, a renowned scholar of the history of American law and exponent of the Law and Society Association, discussing his role as a pioneer and impact as an author on the shaping and expansion of various fields of knowledge. From his pioneering studies on legal culture, the legal system, and law and development, his seminal texts on the history of law, the penal system, and law and pop culture, to his original theses on total justice, the republic of choice, the horizontal society, and the impact of law, the article summarizes six decades of Friedman’s academic output, including his 50 years spent as Professor at Stanford University Law School. Apart from the selected literature, the essay provides a short biographical note on Friedman, also touching on his role as leader of the Law and Society Association and the Research Committee of Sociology of Law, as well as in the development of Stanford’s Juridical Sciences Master (J.S.M.) and International Junior Faculty Forum (IJFF). The article has been written in tandem with the newly-published Portuguese translation of Friedman’s ‘Is There a Modern Legal Culture?” essay, serving as an invitation to Brazilian academia to explore, translate, discuss, and learn more about Friedman’s work.