Lawrence Meir Friedman (born April 2, 1930) is an American law professor, historian of American
legal history
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and histo ...
, and author of nonfiction and fiction books. He has been a member of the faculty at
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
since 1968.
Biography
Friedman received his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
LL.M
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
from the
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...
(where he was on the staff of the ''
University of Chicago Law Review
The ''University of Chicago Law Review'' (Maroonbook abbreviation: ''U Chi L Rev'') is the flagship law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School. It is among the top five most cited law reviews in the world. Up until 2020, it utili ...
'') in 1951 and 1953, respectively.
Admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
in 1951, he was associated with the
firm
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
of D'Ancona, Pflaum, Wyatt, and Riskind in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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from 1955 to 1957. At the time, his practice area was trusts and estates. Friedman taught at
Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis University School of Law, also known as SLU LAW, is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the professional graduate schools of Saint Louis University. The University hosted a law school briefly fr ...
as Assistant Professor of Law (1957–60) and as Associate Professor of Law (1960–61). He then moved to the
University of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...
, where he was Associate Professor of Law (1961–65) and then Professor of Law (1965–68). Friedman was a Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford Law School from 1966 to 1967 and moved to Stanford in 1968. He holds courtesy appointments with Stanford's department of history and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
.
Friedman is the recipient of six honorary law degrees:
LL.D.
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
degrees from the
University of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...
Law School (1977),
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts ...
University of Lund
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Sweden) (1993), John Marshall Law School (1995), and
University of Macerata
The University of Macerata ( it, Università degli Studi di Macerata) is a public university located in Macerata, Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe that are still functioning.https://thefunkonme.com/top-10-oldest-universities ...
(Italy) (1998), and a D.Juris. from the
University of Milan
The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...
(Italy) (2006).
Friedman is a fellow in the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
. He has been the President of
Law and Society Association
The Law and Society Association (LSA), founded in 1964, is a group of scholars from many fields and countries who share a common interest in the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life. It is one of the leading professional a ...
Brian Leiter
Brian Leiter (; born 1963) is an American philosopher and legal scholar who is Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Chicago Law School and founder and Director of Chicago's Center for Law, Philosophy & Human Values. ...
found that Friedman was the most-cited law professor in the field of legal history, with 1890 citations between 2000 and 2007.Leiter, Brian. Most Cited Law Professors by Specialty, 2000-2007 " Leiter Rankings 18 December 2007.
Friedman has said that he was influenced by his colleague
James Willard Hurst
James Willard Hurst (October 6, 1910 – June 18, 1997) is widely credited as the founder of the modern field of United States, American legal history. Educated at Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1935, Hurst was a research assistant ...
, who was at the Wisconsin Law School at the same time as Friedman. Hurst was twenty years older than Friedman, and Hurst is often credited as the founder of the discipline of American legal history.
Friedman is internationally recognized in the field of legal history. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Law and Society movement in North America and an influential figure within the
sociology of law
The sociology of law (legal sociology, or law and society) is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies. Some see sociology of law as belonging "necessarily" to the field of sociology, ...
.
Friedman's legal and historical writings are unusual in their appeal to a broad audience. ''A History of American Law'' was first published in 1973. In 2016, it ranks number 21 in the
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
rankings of bestsellers in the category of legal reference.
Friedman is also a fiction writer. He has published at least eight mystery novels, generally murder mysteries involving a San Mateo attorney named Frank May. Friedman publishes his fiction writing as "Lawrence Friedman" and his nonfiction writing as "Lawrence M. Friedman."
Selected bibliography
Friedman has published thirty-four books of nonfiction. Among his most significant works are:
*''The Big Trial: Law As Public Spectacle'', Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2015.
*''Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011 (co-authored with Joanna L. Grossman).
*''Guarding Life's Dark Secret: Legal and Social Controls over Reputation, Propriety, and Privacy,'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007.
*
*''American Law in the 20th Century'', New Haven:
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Universi ...
, 2002
*''The Horizontal Society'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.
*''Crime and Punishment in American History'', New York: Basic Books, 1993.
*''The Legal System: A Social Science Perspective'', New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1975.
Selected titles among his eight novels:
* ''A Heavenly Death''. QP Books. 2014.
* ''Death of A Schemer''. QP Books. 2015.