Elizabeth Mertz
Elizabeth Mertz is a legal anthropologist who studies legal language in the United States,
with a special focus on law school education. Her research also examines
the problems involved in translating between law and social science,
particularly in the domain of family law. In addition to her position at
the ABF, she is on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law
School. She has published in numerous journals and edited collections, and
in an Oxford University Press book entitled The Language of Law School:
Learning to “Think Like a Lawyer.” Her study has drawn national
attention from scholars interested in reforming the current system of legal
education in the U.S.
As a law student, Professor Mertz graduated first in her class, and
subsequently clerked for Judge Richard D. Cudahy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit. Before attending law school, she earned a Ph.D. in
Anthropology.
In recognition of her work at the intersection of law and social science,
Professor Mertz was elected a Fellow of the American Anthropological
Association, as well as Treasurer of the Law & Society Association.
She served for many years as Editor of Law & Social Inquiry, and
is currently Editor of the Political and Legal Anthropology Review.
Her writings on family violence and law, legal translations, and other topics
have appeared in such publications as the Harvard Law Review, Law
& Society Review, and the Annual Review of Anthropology.