Welcome
Welcome to my website. Please browse. Here you will find information on me, my research and publications. Dissemination is vital. Most academic publications take a long time to come out and may be published in unusual places. My website counters this trend by making most of my publications available for free download in PDF format.
Papers are organized by date or type (book or article). There is also a keyword search engine which will help you find papers on themes such as globalization, law firms, or bankruptcy. There are also links to other interesting websites including my blog, where I like to try out ideas (summaries are on this site) and my page on SSRN.
If you want to comment or criticise, please write in the guestbook or you can contact me. Students can also find further information on my Westminster Research Methods, Miami Global Lawyering or the Professional Responsibility course for Miami Law School.
Latest Publications
Report on International Approaches to the Defence of Indigent Persons in Criminal Cases for Lord Carter's Review of Legal Aid Procurement available at: http://www.legalaidprocurementreview.gov.uk/publications.htm
- Law Firms
Published: Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives, 2007
Summary: A brief social history of the development of the modern law firm, large and small.
File size: 100 Kb, 9 pages - Lawyers as Sanctifiers: The Role of Elite Law Firms in International Business Transactions
Published: Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 2007
Summary: International large law firms are vital to the globalization of business transactions. Their role is generally ignored however. This paper analyzes their role using a theoretical gloss derived from Luhmann and the Jesuits. Various examples of transactional work are presented to illustrate the sanctification role.
File size: 277Kb, 31 pages - Participant Observation
Published: Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives, 2007
Summary: A brief overview of what participant observation means for the sociolegal scholar.
File size: 31 Kb, 5 pages - Partnership and Professionalism: Resurgent Professionalism?
Published: Redirections in the Study of Expert Labour, 2007
Summary: The industrialization of legal practice is leading to an increased tension between professionalism and business as varieties of the prevailing ethos in large law firms. Using historical and biographical data of law firms this tension is examined with the result that professionalism is, on the legal profession's own terms, dying out. Only in rare niche, smaller firms can residues of professionalism be located.
File size: 108 Kb, 25 pages
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- New Working Paper Uploaded on
14th March 2008
"Lawyers, Law Firms and the Stabilization of Transnational Business" is a new paper by Fabian Sosa, my colleague in Bremen, and me. It looks at the role of lawyers, in large and medium-sized law firms, in cross-border transactions through the lens of Luhmann and Gilson. It's under "In Progress" here and also on my SSRN page. Comments are very welcome. The paper is coming out in the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business this year.