For generations, the legal treatise has been a cornerstone of legal research, consulted, cited, and trusted. At the same time, it is often treated as a familiar tool rather than a subject of reflection. But what exactly gives the legal treatise its authority, and how has that role evolved?
New Perspectives on the Legal Treatise takes a closer look at the legal treatise as both a source and a genre of legal authority. Edited by Femi Cadmus and Nicholas Mignanelli, the volume brings together legal scholars and law librarians to explore the history, development, and continued relevance of the legal treatise in a changing legal information environment.
Based on the proceedings of the Second Yale Legal Information Symposium, the book considers how legal treatises have shaped American legal research and how they continue to function amid shifts in technology, access, and research practices.
One idea that runs throughout the volume is the continued importance of the legal treatise itself.
“The moral, the unmissable thread, running through this fascinating collection of legal, literary, and institutional stories is this: Ignore the legal treatise at your own risk! And just as the treatise . . . has turned out to be a persistently valuable resource for understanding stability and change in the protean creature that is ‘the law,’ so too this new volume that you are holding is a valuable resource for understanding stability and change in the treatise itself.”
Ross E. Davies
Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, and Editor of The Green Bag
Revisiting a Foundational Research Tool
The legal treatise has long occupied a central role in legal research, valued for its authority and depth. This volume examines that role across time, tracing the evolution of the legal treatise from its historical foundations to its place in contemporary legal scholarship. Taken together, the essays encourage readers to think about the legal treatise not only as a reference work, but also as a form of legal writing that continues to shape research and scholarship.
Contributors address a range of topics, including:
- The historical development of the legal treatise
- Representation in legal scholarship
- The future of the legal treatise in an era of digital research
- The impact of technological and electronic transitions
Voices from the Legal Research Community
The book features essays by legal scholars and law librarians from across the United States and Canada, reflecting a broad range of perspectives and expertise.
Jane Bahnson
Assistant Director for Research & Instruction Services at the Michael J. Goodson Law Library and Lecturing Fellow, Duke Law School
Paul D. Callister
Director of the Leon E. Bloch Law Library and Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
John Cannan
Faculty Scholarship Librarian and Legal Research Instructor, Villanova University Charles Widget School of Law
M.H. Hoeflich
John H. & John M. Kane Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
John H. Langbein
Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law and Legal History, Yale Law School
Carlton F.W. Larson
Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, University of California, Davis School of Law
John L. Moreland
Director of Library and Research Services, Phillips Lytle
Dana Neacșu
Chief Law Librarian, New York City Law Department
Shawn G. Nevers
Director of Howard H. Hunter Law Library, J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University
Kent C. Olson
Former Head of Research Services at the Arthur J. Morris Law Library, University of Virginia School of Law
Wesley M. Oliver
Law and Computing Program Director, Marie-Clement Rodier, C.Sp. Endowed Chair, and Professor of Law, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
Anne Rajotte
Associate Director of Research, Instruction & Scholarship at the Thomas J. Meskill Law Library, University of Connecticut School of Law
Wickliffe Shreve
Head of Scholarly Services at the Michael J. Goodson Law Library and Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke Law School
Simon Stern
Professor of Law and English, Director of the Centre for Innovation Law & Policy, and Chair in Innovation Law, University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Nicole D. Stout
Associate, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Amanda Bolles Watson
Assistant Dean for Library & Information Resources, Harvard Law School
About the Editors
Femi Cadmus
Femi Cadmus is Law Librarian and Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Before her current role, she was the Archibald C. and Frances Fulk Rufty Distinguished Research Professor of Law and Director of the Michael J. Goodson Law Library at Duke University. Prior to this, she held the position of Edward Cornell Law Librarian and Professor of the Practice at Cornell University. A recognized leader in law librarianship, she served as the President of the American Association of Law Libraries from 2018 to 2019. Her research interests and publications focus on the intersection of law and technology, open access to legal information, and the evolving function of the modern-day law library.
Nicholas Mignanelli
Nicholas Mignanelli is Assistant Dean and Director of the Mabee Legal Information Center and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa College of Law. He formerly served as the Assistant Director for Reference at the Lillian Goldman Law Library and as a Lecturer in Legal Research at Yale Law School. His research uses critical frameworks to examine legal information structures and practices with focuses on emerging legal technologies and American law book history. His work has been published in Law Library Journal, The Library Quarterly, Journal of Legal Education, Georgetown Law Technology Review, Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés, and Boston University Law Review Online, among other journals.
Order Your Copy Today
New Perspectives on the Legal Treatise
Editors: Femi Cadmus & Nicholas Mignanelli
Item #: 1007666
ISBN: 9780837743325
Pages: xiii, 296p.
1 Volume…$130.00
Published: Getzville; William S. Hein & Co., Inc.; 2025
