Biography

Professor (by courtesy) of History and Professor (by courtesy) of Political Science

An internationally renowned, prize-winning legal historian, Lawrence M. Friedman has for a generation been the leading expositor of the history of American law to a global audience of lawyers and lay people alike—and a leading figure in the law and society movement. He is particularly well known for treating legal history as a branch of general social history. From his award-winning History of American Law, first published in 1973, to his American Law in the 20th Century, published in 2003, his canonical works have become classic textbooks in legal and undergraduate education.

Professor Friedman is a prolific author on crime and punishment, and his numerous books have been translated into multiple languages. He is the recipient of six honorary law degrees and is a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 1968, he was a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and at Saint Louis University School of Law.

Professor Friedman has an appointment (by courtesy) with the Stanford University Department of History and the Department of Political Science.

Key Works

• Lawrence M. Friedman, The Human Rights Culture: A Study in History and Context, New Orleans, La.: Quid Pro Books, 2011.
• Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3rd ed., New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
• Lawrence M. Friedman, American Law in the 20th Century, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. 722 pages.
• Lawrence M. Friedman, Crime and Punishment in American History, in Violence in America: an Encyclopedia, Ronald Gottesman, editor-in-chief and Richard Maxwell Brown, consulting editor. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. (p.330-342)
• Lawrence M. Friedman, The Horizontal Society, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. 310 pages.
• Lawrence M. Friedman, The Legal System: A Social Science Perspective, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1975. (p. 338)

Courses & Programs

Courses

• History of American Law
• SPILS Law and Society Seminar

Programs

• Stanford Program in Law and Society, Program Faculty Sponsor

Publications & Cases

Recent Publications View All

• Lawrence M. Friedman, The Magic Mailbox of Inga Markovits, (Book Review: Justice in Lüritz: Experiencing Socialist Law in East Germany, by Inga Markovits), 90 Texas Law Review 277 (2011).
• Lawrence M. Friedman, Contract Law in America: A Social and Economic Case Study, New Orleans, La.: Quid Pro Books, 2011.
• Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman, Towels Under Tailbones? Naked San Franciscans Protest Proposed Restrictions on Public Nudity, Verdict, October 4, 2011
• Lawrence M. Friedman, Front Page: Notes on the Nature and Significance of Headline Trials, 55 Saint Louis University Law 1243 (2011).
• Lawrence M. Friedman, Death of a Wannabe: The Frank May Chronicles, New Orleans: Quid Pro LLC, 2011.
• Lawrence M. Friedman, A Tale of Two Cultures: Privacy and Dignity, in Gesellschaft und Gerechtigkeit: Festschrift für Hubert Rottleuthner, Matthias Mahlmann, editor, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2011.
• Joanna Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman, Inside the Castle: Law and the Family in 20th Century America, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011.
• Lawrence M. Friedman, The Human Rights Culture: A Study in History and Context, New Orleans, La.: Quid Pro Books, 2011.
• Lawrence M. Friedman, Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo, Manuel A. Gómez, editors. Law in Many Societies: A Reader, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011
• Lawrence M. Friedman, Erewhon: The Coming Global Legal Order, Law in Many Societies: A Reader, Lawrence M. Friedman, Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo, Manuel A. Gómez, editors, Stanford: Stanford Law Books, 2011.

Affiliations & Honors

Professional Affiliations

• Past President, American Society for Legal History
• Past President, Research Committee, Sociology of Law, International Sociological Association
• Past President, Law and Society Association

Honors and Awards

• Honorary LLD, University of Puget Sound, 1977; John Jay C., City University of New York, 1989; University of Lund, 1993; John Marshall Law School, 1995; University of Macerata (Italy), 1997
• Honorary D.Juris, University of Milan (Italy), 2006
• Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Society of American Historians
• Recipient, Triennial Book Award of the Order of the Coif, 1976
• Recipient, John Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford, 1976
• Recipient, James Willard Hurst Prize, Law and Society Association, 1982
• Recipient, Harry Kalven Prize, for Distinguished Research on Law and Society, Law and Society Association, 1992
• Recipient, Silver Gavel Award of the American Bar Association, 1994
• Recipient, American Bar Foundation Research Award, 2001