x Acknowledgments
contract law discussions; any errors that remain despite their efforts are of course
my sole responsibility. Sincere thanks also to my wonderful OUP editors.
I wish to begin by acknowledging the team effort that goes into large-scale re-
search projects of this kind. I have on numerous occasions reflected with some
despair on the inadequacy of any mere acknowledgment to express my apprecia-
tion to the extraordinarily dedicated group of researchers who worked on this
project. Readers who know this field will recognize among the names on this list
gifted scholars who have gone on to make outstanding contributions in their own
right. Despite the sometimes dreary and plodding character of the work, everyone
carried through even the tougher moments with grace and energy, and with a sense
of camaraderie and fellowship. I thank Nancy Matthews, the first project manager,
for her vision, intellectual precision, and good humor in directing the nitty-gritty
daily work as we began the process of gaining access, taping, and formulating cod-
ing categories, as well as for her own contribution to in-class taping and coding of
one of the classes. Susan Gooding had the difficult task of taking over as project
manager in midstream, a job she tackled with a high degree of commitment both
to the people involved and to the project; her insights and conceptual rigor also
greatly enriched the interpretation of the results as they emerged. Wamucii Njogu,
who directed the bulk of the quantitative analysis, similarly insisted on careful
and critical examination of the coding and data; her flexibility and intellectual
curiosity in working across quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study
brought a unique and exciting dimension to the results. And a heartfelt thanks
to the exceptionally talented individuals who did the work of coding, inside and
outside of the classrooms: Jacqueline Baum, Nahum Chandler, Janina Fenigsen,
Leah Feldman, Christine Garza, Carolee Larsen, Mindie Lazarus-Black, Jerry
Lombardi, Kay Mohlman, Robert Moore, and Shepley Orr. Steve Neufeld, Carlos
de la Rosa, and Tom Murphy worked on the quantitative analysis. The tiring task
of transcription was undertaken with care by Diane Clay, Leah Feldman, and Zella
Coleman and her group.
I also thank the “subjects” of this research, the professors and students in the
eight classrooms we studied. Inviting researchers with tape recorders and coding
sheets into one’s classroom takes guts, and the professors who did so deserve com-
mendation for their willingness to take some risks in order to help advance our
understanding of the teaching process. Having now taught law school classes my-
self, I have a better appreciation of the courage it took to allow us to observe and
record in their classrooms.
I feel deeply grateful to the American Bar Foundation, my home since the
project began and one of the major funding sources for this research. The Foun-
dation has provided a uniquely congenial setting for this kind of work, with one of
the premier groups of sociolegal scholars in the country. I have enjoyed and learned
from my colleagues in that community, and I thank them for providing such an
encouraging and intellectually rich context in which to do research. I am particu-
larly grateful to the director of the Foundation during the time of this project, Bryant
Garth, for substantial support and encouragement, and for the vision of interdis-
ciplinary community that he has helped to make real. I owe much to all of my
colleagues, past and present, at the ABF for their incisive critiques and their humor,