Professor Tamanaha is the Chief Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo
Professor of Law. In 2007-2008, he was a Member
in residence at the Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton. He is the author of five books: Law as a
Means to an End: Threat to the Rule of Law (Cambridge
2006); On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory
(Cambridge 2004); A General Jurisprudence of Law and
Society (Oxford 2001); Realistic Socio-Legal Theory:
Pragmatism and a Social Theory of Law (Oxford 1997); and
Understanding Law in Micronesia: An Interpretive Approach to
Transplanted Law (Brill 1993). He recently
completed a new monograph, Beyond the Formalist-Realist Divide
on Judging, which is currently under review for publication by
a university press. He has also published many articles in a
variety of leading journals.
Professor Tamanaha's scholarship has earned wide
recognition. He is the recipient of the inaugural Dennis
Leslie Mahoney Prize in Legal Theory (2006) and
the Herbert Jacob Book Prize (2002).
His General Jurisprudence
book was praised in the Law and Society
Review as "bold, ambitious, radical and
challenging...this is an important work." A review in the
Oxford Journal of Legal Studies concluded that
the "book offers important conceptual, philosophical, and
sociological insights into law...a very impressive feat."
His second book, Realistic Socio-Legal
Theory, was the subject of a symposium issue of the
Rutgers Law Review, it received a Special Recognition
Award (1998) from the Law and Society Association, and it
was identified in Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence as
one of the "most significant [jurisprudence] books" to
appear in the 1990's; a review in the Oxford Journal of Legal
Studies observed that it is "by any criterion an excellent
book." On the Rule of Law, his fourth
book, was labeled "a valuable work" in the Law and
Politics Review; a review in the Journal of Law and
Society remarked that "One constantly feels that one is in the
hands of a conscientious, fair-minded, and seriously thoughtful
guide." Professor Tamanaha's most recent book, Law as a
Means to an End, received an Honorable Mention Award from the
Association of American Publishers for
the best professional/scholarly book published on
law in 2006. It was described in the Law and
Politics Review as "a must read....[A]n outstanding treatment
of an important scholarly question with profound normative
implications for American society."
Professor Tamanaha has delivered a number of high
profile lectures in the United States and
abroad. In 2007, he delivered the Julius Stone
Address at the University of Sydney, as well as the Baker
& Hostetler Lecture at Cleveland-Marshall Law School. In
2006, he gave the Plenary Address at the 7th Annual Conference of
European Legislation at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
He delivered the inaugural Montesquieu Lecture in 2004 at the
University of Tilburg. Professor Tamanaha also delivered the
Keynote Address at the Conference on Law and Social Theory (2001)
at Wolfson College, Oxford University, and presented Public
Lectures at the University of Tilburg (2001) and University College
London (2002). He has also given presentations
at several dozen faculties.
Professor Tamanaha served as Interim Dean of the School of Law
in 1998-99, and was selected by the students to be Professor of the
Year in 2001. He teaches Torts, Jurisprudence, Comparative Law, and
Professional Responsibility.