Richard Abel
Credentials: B.A. Harvard, 1962. LL.B. Columbia, 1965. Ph.D. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1974. LL.D. (honoris causa), University of Westminster
Position title: Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor
Email: abel@law.ucla.edu
Website: Richard Abel's website
Address:
UCLA School of Law
385 Charles E. Young Dr. East
Los Angeles, CA, 90095
Richard Abel is a leading scholar in the fields of legal profession, tort law, and law and social change. A longtime professor at UCLA School of Law, he has served as president of the Law and Society Association and held editorial roles with African Law Studies and the Law & Society Review, among others. He was a founding member of the Conference on Critical Legal Studies and helped organize early conversations on law and racism. His academic work has been deeply shaped by his early research on African customary law, including fieldwork in Kenya.
Professor Abel’s influential publications include Lawyers in the Dock, Politics by Other Means: Law in the Struggle Against Apartheid, American Lawyers, and English Lawyers between Market and State, among many others. His scholarship critically explores the legal profession, law and politics, speech, and justice systems across global contexts.