Litigation Scholarship

20 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2013

See all articles by Ronald K. L. Collins

Ronald K. L. Collins

University of Washington - School of Law

Date Written: June 7, 2013

Abstract

In legal scholarship, as in life, it is all too easy to be oblivious to the obvious. This is particularly true when it comes to legal scholarship, which is heavily court-centric in its focus. Even in those areas where it is not court fixated, such scholarship is rarely directed to the work of lawyers qua lawyers. When it comes to them and their work product, relatively little attention finds its way to the pages of academic journals. The result is a limited vision of the law, one that ignores the important role of lawyers in our system of government. Before there was a landmark decision in constitutional law, administrative law, antitrust law, securities law, environmental law, or in criminal procedure, there were briefs prepared and cases argued by lawyers. How much do we know about their work? How often is that work analyzed? What influence, if any, did that work have on the judgment rendered and/or on the appellate court opinion handed down? What important arguments did they tender that were ignored by a reviewing court? And finally, how much do we in the legal community know about the overall work of these lawyers and how their efforts have affected the direction of American law? Incredibly, the answer to all of these questions is the same: we know very little. This Article speaks to that issue; it directs much-needed scholarly attention (historical and analytical) to the lawyerly side of the jurisprudential equation.

Keywords: lawyers, legal profession, litigation, appellate litigation, briefs, legal history, constitutional law

Suggested Citation

Collins, Ronald K. L., Litigation Scholarship (June 7, 2013). University of Washington School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-22, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2276234

Ronald K. L. Collins (Contact Author)

University of Washington - School of Law ( email )

William H. Gates Hall
Box 353020
Seattle, WA 98105-3020
United States

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