History of the Yale Law School [Hardcover]

Prof. Anthony T. Kronman (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300095643 | ISBN-13: 978-0300095647 | Publication Date: May 10, 2004 | Edition: First edition.

The entity that became the Yale Law School started life early in the nineteenth century as a proprietary school, operated as a sideline by a couple of New Haven lawyers. The New Haven school affiliated with Yale in the 1820s, but it remained so frail that in 1845 and again in 1869 the University seriously considered closing it down. From these humble origins, the Yale Law School went on to become the most influential of American law schools. In the later nineteenth century the School instigated the multidisciplinary approach to law that has subsequently won nearly universal acceptance. In the 1930s the Yale Law School became the centre of the jurisprudential movement known as legal realism, which has ever since shaped American law. In the second half of the twentieth century Yale brought the study of constitutional and international law to prominence, overcoming the emphasis on private law that had dominated American law schools. By the end of the twentieth century, Yale was widely acknowledged as the nation's leading law school. The essays in this collection trace these notable developments. They originated as a lecture series convened to commemorate the tercentenary of Yale University. A distinguished group of scholars assembled to explore the history of the School, from the earliest days down to modern times. This volume preserves the highly readable format of the original lectures, supported with full scholarly citations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anthony T. Kronman is Dean of the Yale Law School and Edward J. Phelps Professor of Law.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First edition. edition (May 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300095643
• ISBN-13: 978-0300095647
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,618,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a history of Yale Law School, July 6, 2004

By 

Ronald H. Clark (WASHINGTON, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: History of the Yale Law School (Hardcover)

Law school histories run the gamut in quality. For example, those dealing with Columbia (by Goebel) and Harvard (Charles Warren) add a rich dimension to our understanding of legal education and the role of law schools in the bigger picture. Other histories can be mundane and so narrowly focused upon the school itself that they are of little general interest. This volume, edited by former Yale Law Dean Anthony Kronman, falls into the first category and employs a unique approach in doing so. This is because the book is not a chronological history of YLS, but rather consists of six essays by five different authors focusing upon differing facets of the School's history. However, each author also addresses a broader area of interest than just what was going on at YLS. For example, excellent essays by Robert Stevens and John Langbein place the founding of YLS within the larger context of legal education in 18th and 19th centuries. A second essay by Langbein discusses the unique approaches to legal education YLS developed. Perhaps the strongest essay is by Robert Gordon who focuses upon some of the Legal Realists at YLS during the 1930's (Arnold, Douglas, Frank and Hamilton) who gravitated to the larger stage of the New Deal and became national policymakers. Laura Kalman, who is writing a full-length history of YLS, contributes a perhaps too extensive essay on the so-called "Dark Ages" at YLS in the 1960's and 1970's when student unrest and faculty dissention became notable features of the YLS landscape. Each essays rests upon extensive footnotes, adding an invaluable dimension to the book's value. All told, this book should be of value to anyone interested in the development of legal education, the New Deal, the turbulent 1960's and 1970's, as well as those whose interests are limited to the Yale Law School itself.