Legal treatises have long played a foundational role in shaping legal thought, practice, and scholarship. In an era of rapid technological change, particularly with the rise of generative AI, their purpose and relevance are being reexamined. New Perspectives on the Legal Treatise brings together leading voices from the legal information community to explore the evolution, impact, and future of this enduring form. In this interview, the editors reflect on the origins of the book, the process behind its creation, and what the essays reveal about the lasting significance of the legal treatise.
Why a book about the legal treatise? Better put, why a book about a type of law book?
The book began as papers presented at the Second Yale Legal Information Symposium in March 2023. The subject of the first symposium was “citation and the law,” which was also published as a book with Hein. The inspiration for the second symposium, “The Legal Treatise: Past, Present, and Future,” was a flurry of recent articles about the legal treatise written by law librarians, as well as new questions about the relevance of the legal treatise in the face of generative AI. The papers were selected by a symposium steering committee chaired by Nicholas Mignanelli and consisting of Michael Chiorazzi, Anne Klinefelter, Julie Krishnaswami, Fred Shapiro, and Femi Cadmus (ex officio). After the symposium, we decided that the symposium papers were best memorialized as a book.
A Panel Discussion at the Second Yale Legal Information Symposium in March 2023
Left to Right: Fred Shapiro, Wesley M. Oliver, Anne Rajotte, and John Canaan.
What were the most challenging aspects of editing this book?
Probably managing so many authors and teams of authors (all of whom were wonderful to work with) through the editing process. We had several rounds of revisions before the essays were finally copyedited and formatted. We hasten to add how grateful we are for the work of Jennifer Allison of Manuscript Spa, who indexed the book for us. Her index really draws out the key concepts.
Editors Nicholas Mignanelli and Femi Cadmus attend the Second Yale Legal Information Symposium
What are the common themes that run through the essays in this book?
Among others, the way the legal treatise has shaped Anglo-American law; the use of particular legal treatises to elevate authors, communities, and issues; and the surprising versatility and endurance of the legal treatise through major technological changes.
The first legal treatise written in the United States, Tapping Reeve’s The Law of Baron and Femme (1816), which features prominently in Editor Nicholas Mignanelli’s Preface
What is the future of the legal treatise?
The legal treatise will remain relevant to the work of scholars and practitioners alike. Historically, the legal treatise distilled and systematized the law. Going forward, in the age of AI, the legal treatise will humanize the law by providing lawyers and legal scholars with reliable human expertise, offering the authoritative stability often missing in LLM-based legal tools.
For those interested in how legal knowledge is created, preserved, and transformed, New Perspectives on the Legal Treatise offers a compelling look at both the history and future of this foundational form.
Whether you’re a librarian, researcher, or legal scholar, the essays in this volume provide valuable insight into how treatises continue to shape the legal landscape.
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
