Overview

A critical history of the Americanization of legal education in fourteen countries The second half of the twentieth century witnessed the export of American power—both hard and soft—throughout the world. What role did US cultural and economic imperialism play in legal education? American Legal Education Abroad offers an unprecedented and surprising picture of the history of legal education in fourteen countries beyond the United States. Each study in this book represents a critical history of the Americanization of legal education, reexamining prevailing narratives of exportation, transplantation, and imperialism. Collectively, these studies challenge the conventional wisdom that American ideas and practices have dominated globally. Editors Susan Bartie and David Sandomierski and their contributors suggest that to understand legal education and to respond thoughtfully to the mounting present-day challenges, it is essential to look beyond a particular region and consider not only the ideas behind legal education but also the broader historical, political, and cultural factors that have shaped them. American Legal Education Abroad begins with an important foundational history by leading Harvard Law School historian Bruce Kimball, who explains the factors that created a transportable American legal model, and the book concludes with reflections from two prominent American law professors, Susan Carle and Bob Gordon, whose observations on recent disruptions within US law schools suggest that their influence within the global order of legal education may soon fall into further decline. This book should be considered an invaluable resource for anyone in the field of law.

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9781479803583

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Reviews

This excellent selection of essays presents the US law school in all its duality as both a powerful global cultural imaginary, and a highly contingent set of local practices. In its nuanced and geographically wide-ranging assessment of the 'Americanization' project, this book provides an important resource for scholars of the history and globalization of legal education. -- Julian Webb, Professor of Law, Melbourne Law School, Australia This fascinating collection of essays by eminent legal scholars and historians examines the global influence of American legal education. The essays are by no means formulaic, as the impact of American legal education is considered in the light of each country's varied historical and political context, whether it be decolonization in Nigeria or post-Soviet experience in Estonia. The essays also eschew the simplistic and one-dimensional view that American legal education was accepted without question, as there was actual resistance on the part of France, for example, and Japan regarded it as irrelevant. -- Margaret Thornton, Professor of Law Emerita, The Australian National University Bartie and Sandiomerski have brought together a distinguished group of authors who together encourage us to reflect on the extent to which the American model of legal education has been accommodated (or resisted) around the world. In addition to providing revealing insights into the ways in which different jurisdictions have interpreted the notion itself, the collection succeeds in demonstrating the ways in which local circumstances have influenced the way reception of American legal education has played out, with very different results. A fascinating read. -- Fiona Cownie, Professor of Law Emerita, Keele University

Bartie and Sandiomerski have brought together a distinguished group of authors who together encourage us to reflect on the extent to which the American model of legal education has been accommodated (or resisted) around the world. In addition to providing revealing insights into the ways in which different jurisdictions have interpreted the notion itself, the collection succeeds in demonstrating the ways in which local circumstances have influenced the way reception of American legal education has played out, with very different results. A fascinating read. -- Fiona Cownie, Professor of Law Emerita, Keele University This fascinating collection of essays by eminent legal scholars and historians examines the global influence of American legal education. The essays are by no means formulaic, as the impact of American legal education is considered in the light of each country’s varied historical and political context, whether it be decolonization in Nigeria or post-Soviet experience in Estonia. The essays also eschew the simplistic and one-dimensional view that American legal education was accepted without question, as there was actual resistance on the part of France, for example, and Japan regarded it as irrelevant. -- Margaret Thornton, Professor of Law Emerita, The Australian National University This excellent selection of essays presents the US law school in all its duality as both a powerful global cultural imaginary, and a highly contingent set of local practices. In its nuanced and geographically wide-ranging assessment of the ‘Americanization’ project, this book provides an important resource for scholars of the history and globalization of legal education. -- Julian Webb, Professor of Law, Melbourne Law School, Australia Contributors to Bartie and Sandomierski’s volume present a critical history of the Americanization of legal education in fourteen countries. They argue that the second half of the twentieth century witnessed the export of power—both hard and soft—throughout the world, and they focus on the effect of US cultural and economic imperialism on legal education. Collectively, these studies challenge the conventional wisdom that American ideas and practices have dominated globally. * Law and Social Inquiry * American Legal Education Abroad–Critical Histories is a book that deserves to be read by any legal scholar, particularly those interested in comparative legal history… it is an important contribution to the theory of legal transplants and adds a significant piece to the literature on the ‘Americanisation’ of law and legal culture. * Comparative Legal History *

Bartie and Sandiomerski have brought together a distinguished group of authors who together encourage us to reflect on the extent to which the American model of legal education has been accommodated (or resisted) around the world. In addition to providing revealing insights into the ways in which different jurisdictions have interpreted the notion itself, the collection succeeds in demonstrating the ways in which local circumstances have influenced the way reception of American legal education has played out, with very different results. A fascinating read. -- Fiona Cownie, Professor of Law Emerita, Keele University This fascinating collection of essays by eminent legal scholars and historians examines the global influence of American legal education. The essays are by no means formulaic, as the impact of American legal education is considered in the light of each country's varied historical and political context, whether it be decolonization in Nigeria or post-Soviet experience in Estonia. The essays also eschew the simplistic and one-dimensional view that American legal education was accepted without question, as there was actual resistance on the part of France, for example, and Japan regarded it as irrelevant. -- Margaret Thornton, Professor of Law Emerita, The Australian National University This excellent selection of essays presents the US law school in all its duality as both a powerful global cultural imaginary, and a highly contingent set of local practices. In its nuanced and geographically wide-ranging assessment of the 'Americanization' project, this book provides an important resource for scholars of the history and globalization of legal education. -- Julian Webb, Professor of Law, Melbourne Law School, Australia Contributors to Bartie and Sandomierski's volume present a critical history of the Americanization of legal education in fourteen countries. They argue that the second half of the twentieth century witnessed the export of power-both hard and soft-throughout the world, and they focus on the effect of US cultural and economic imperialism on legal education. Collectively, these studies challenge the conventional wisdom that American ideas and practices have dominated globally. * Law and Social Inquiry *

Author Information

Susan Bartie (Editor) Susan Bartie is Lecturer in Law at the University of Tasmania. She has won a number of awards and prizes including a Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence for her PhD, a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning from the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training (national award) for her teaching and she was awarded a British Chevening Scholarship to complete a Masters in Law at the University of Cambridge.Her recent book, Free Hands and Minds – Pioneering Legal Scholars, reveals the central ideas that underpinned the birth of modern Australian university legal education. David Sandomierski (Editor) David Sandomierski is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at Western University. He holds an SJD from the University of Toronto, where his doctoral dissertation received the Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal. He also holds degrees in civil and common law from McGill University, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the McGill Law Journal. In 2008-09 he served as law clerk to the Chief Justice of Canada, Beverley McLachlin. His recent book, Aspiration and Reality in Legal Education, examines the relationship between realism and formalism, and theory and practice, in contemporary legal education.

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