Law in Context: Enlarging a Discipline

The central theme of Twining's book is that law is a marvellous subject of study, but to do justice to its potential requires an enlargement of vision, multiple perspectives, and a radical reappraisal of the role, culture, and practices of law schools. Treating theory, education, scholarship, publishing, and professional practice as complementary activities, the author explores the history, philosophy, and practical problems of attempts to broaden the study of law in a disciplined way. He draws upon his personal experience of law schools throughout the common law world and his special knowledge of jurisprudence, evidence,torts and legal method to examine a wide range of topics in depth. These include, for example, the nature and tasks of legal theory, different kinds of legal literature, and access to legal education and the profession. This provocative and readable book will appeal to all those with an interest in the roles of legal theory, law schools, and lawyers in a changing world.