Carolina Academic Press (also known as CAP) is an

academic publisher Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally pub ...

of books and software. Since entering the legal education market in the late 1970s, Carolina Academic Press has become a major publisher of law school textbooks. Today, CAP publishes more than 100 books a year in academic fields ranging from

legal education Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular ...

and

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

and

african studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...

. In 2011, CAP released its first software package, Core Grammar for Lawyers, which has been used by more than half of the

law schools in the United States A law school in the United States is an educational institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree. Law schools in the U.S. confer the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.), which is a ...

History

Keith Sipe founded Carolina Academic Press in 1974. Sipe began publishing after living in Pakistan on a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. The press's first titles were American editions of foreign scholarship. The first title to use the CAP imprint was ''India/China: Underdevelopment and Revolution'' by the widely known journalist, Nigel Harris. Within a few years, however, CAP was publishing original scholarship and began entering new markets. The first manuscript signed was Richard Remnek's, ''Soviet Scholars and Soviet Foreign Policy'' which was published in 1975. In 1978, Carolina Academic Press published ''Plain English for Lawyers'' by Richard Wydick. Arriving at a time when the

plain English Plain English (or layman's terms) are groups of words that are to be clear and easy to know. It usually avoids the use of rare words and uncommon euphemisms to explain the subject. Plain English wording is intended to be suitable for almost anyone, ...

reform movement was reaching national popularity, the book soon became what ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the "most popular legal text today." The book's success spurred the firm to enter the legal publishing field. On January 1, 2016, Carolina Academic Press acquired the Law School Publishing Division of LexisNexis. This acquisition added more than 500 new titles to the CAP list. The firm has its headquarters in the historic Fitzgerald office building near downtown Durham.

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External links

{{Authority control Legal publishers Publishing companies established in 1974 Companies based in Durham, North Carolina Book publishing companies based in North Carolina Academic publishing companies