Law at Berkeley: The History of Boalt Hall
Law at Berkeley: The History of Boalt Hall
Sandra P. Epstein, 365pp, Book # 3753, $27.95
Just as the American law school has no counterpart anywhere in the world, so too, must Boalt Hall be regarded as a unique institution—within the state of California, at the University of California, and in the history of American legal education. As a state school, the Berkeley law school has contributed to the solution of public problems and has trained large numbers of people for public service. In turn, Boalt Hall has been affected by political, economic, and social events within California. The law school has carved out a separate and distinct place for itself within the University of California, while continuing to relate to other campus departments and programs. Finally, Boalt Hall has fulfilled its obligations as a professional school by preparing legal practitioners, all the while tenaciously guarding its position as a preeminent scholarly and educational institution.
The recurrent themes in the history of Boalt Hall have been its desire for greater autonomy, its efforts to legitimate its program of professional studies within the liberal emphasis of the Berkeley undergraduate program, its special treatment by University administrators, its movement from a regional to a national law school, and its continuing removal from the activities of the organized bar.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandra P. Epstein’s history of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) was written under the aegis of Boalt Hall Dean Herma Hill Kay and Dean Emeritus Sanford Kadish. Faculty, administrators, students, and alumni generously shared their knowledge and views of the law school with Dr. Epstein, who has maintained a keen interest in the history of Boalt Hall for over 20 years.