Afterword: Framing Llewellyn

Summary

Introduction

The original objective of Karl Llewellyn and the Realist Movement (hereafter KLRM) was to provide a stimulus and a guide rather than a substitute for reading Llewellyn's writings. When I was invited to write an afterword to this edition of the book, I was concerned not to undermine this aim. The decision not to try to revise or update the original text forty years on was easy; to provide systematic updates through the footnotes would have been distracting; to attempt a comprehensive critical survey of the literature since 1971 on Llewellyn, the Realist Movement, and the Uniform Commercial Code would have required much more space and would have been a further distraction from Llewellyn's own writings. What follows is divided into two parts: Part A is a personal memoir which provides some background to my connection with Llewellyn, how I came to put his papers in order and write this book, the aftermath of its publication, and my relations with Soia Mentschikoff Llewellyn and Herbert Hart. Part B, intended more for specialist readers, reflects on selected developments since 1971 that bear on the book, on Llewellyn's continuing significance, and on some unfinished agenda. It also provides links to the literature of the past forty years. Rather than rely solely on fading memories, Part A draws heavily on contemporaneous documents and prior accounts written closer in time.

Part A. KLRM: a personal memoir

I am grateful to Terry Anderson, Clayton Gillette, Andrew Halpin, Nicola Lacey, Fred Schauer, and Penelope Twining for helpful comments and suggestions.