"Laura Nader, a distinguished and dynamic figure in the development of legal anthropology, examines the role of the law in the struggles for social and economic justice. In this book she gives a historical overview of the anthropology of law and explains the need for anthropologists, lawyers, and activists to recognize the centrality of law in processes of massive social change.

Nader traces the evolution of the plaintiff's role in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century and convincingly argues that the atrophy of the plaintiff's power during this period undermines democracy.".

"Taking into account the vast changes wrought by globalization in both anthropology and law, Nader explores the increasing dominance of multinational corporations and the prominence of "free-market" ideology and practice today. In this context, she considers the rise of the Alternative Dispute Resolution movement which, since the 1960s, has been part of a major overhaul of the U.S. judicial system.

Nader links increasing entrenchment of this movement to the erosion of the plaintiff's power and suggests that mandatory mediation and arbitration without appeal are structured to favor powerful - often corporate - interests. She advocates expanding the role of the plaintiff in tort law to counter corporate hegemony and, in the process, use the law to advance social justice."--BOOK JACKET.