The Common Law Tradition

Karl Llewellyn, a legal realist whose views on jurisprudence were influential and sometimes controversial, was also one of the leading teachers of fundamental legal thought. He took seriously the functions of courts, the use of precedent, and the power of rules. In this important and famous book, he laid bare these jurisprudential tools, in support of appellate court thinking at all levels in the legal system. Legal analysis is so clearly picked apart that this work has served as a toolkit for judicial thinking -- and persuasive argument to courts -- since it was first published in 1960. And his invaluable appendices show in detail how arguments and judicial expressions can be turned around to the advocate's advantage. This book is the culmination of a lifetime of analysis of legal thought from one of the legal system's most important legends.

The new reprint edition from Quid Pro Books adds a 2015 Foreword by Tulane law professor Steven Alan Childress. It embeds the original pagination, to promote continuity of referencing and citation to this foundational work. A compelling addition to the Legal Legends Series from Quid Pro Books, The Common Law Tradition is now available in a library-quality hardcover edition. (NOTE: Only print editions featuring a cover image of the scales of justice are new, from Quid Pro Books, and contain the modern formatting and additions of the 2015-2016 republication, even if this description appears under used copies of the 1960 printing.)

Karl N. Llewellyn (1893-1962) was a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and Columbia University Law School. A leading figure in legal realism, his other books include The Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study, The Cheyenne Way, Jurisprudence, The Theory of Rules, and The Case Law System in America.