Lawyers and the Rise of Western Political Liberalism: Europe and North America from the Eighteenth to Twentieth Centuries (Oxford Socio-Legal Studies)

This new volume originated in a collective project aimed at developing an alternative theoretical approach to the market monopoly theory that currently dominates studies of the legal professions. In contrast to theories linking the rise of professionalism to the development of economic liberalism, this book advances a political theory of lawyers' collective action. The contributors focus on areas where the engagement of lawyers has shaped the core of liberal politics; these papers can only enrich our understanding of the political importance of lawyers.