In this unique volume, James Hackney invites readers to enter the minds of 10 legal experts that in the late 20th century changed the way we understand and use theory in law today. True to the title of the book, Hackney spent hours in conversation with legal intellectuals, interviewing them about their early lives as thinkers and scholars, their contributions to American legal theory, and their thoughts regarding some fundamental theoretical questions in legal academe, particularly the law/politics debate. Legal Intellectuals in Conversation is a veritable “Who’s Who” of legal thought, presented in a sophisticated yet intimate manner.

“James Hackney’s Legal Intellectuals in Conversation makes intellectual history come alive. His incisive and well-informed questions produce responses that illuminate his subjects’ core intellectual and political commitments. Hackney humanizes key ideas in legal theory by placing them in the context of individual biography, historical events, and the sometimes fraught social relationships in the legal academy.”