Sociology of law

This book provides a systematic introduction to the whole range of major contemporary theory and empirical research in the sociology of law. It is written especially for students of law and students of social science in universities and polytechnics, but does not presuppose any prior knowledge of sociology or previous study of law.
The Sociology of Law is the first full length modern British textbook to provide a general survey of this new area of legal studies: as such it seeks to develop a consistent analytical framework for the study of this diverse and wide-ranging field. The opening chapters discuss and illustrate various theoretical approaches to the sociological study of law in Western societies. These approaches are then developed and applied in considering recent empirical studies of lawyers and their work, courts and judges, law enforcement, citizens' access to law and legal services, and other areas of research.