In the European, and indeed, the international world of law and society studies, perhaps no individual has been as important a force as Prof. Vincenzo Ferrari, holder of the chair of Sociology of Law at the University of Milan. He has written extensively on the subject, in clear, insightful, and learned texts and studies. He has trained and inspired the next generation of scholars in the field in Italy. Prof. Ferrari has been a member of the Board, and President, of the Research Committee; has been active in the International Sociological Association, and in the Onati Institute for the Sociology of Law. His work on the functions of law has been translated into several languages. A man of many languages, many ideas, and many friends, his career is a model of integrity, scholarship, and dedication. It is therefore with the greatest pleasure that we have named Vincenzo Ferrari as co-winner of the Podgorecki prize for 2007.
Richard Abel is the Connell Professor of Law, at the University of California (Los Angeles). He has had a long and distinguished career as a law and society scholar. He is probably best known for his rich contributions to the sociology of the legal profession in the United States and Great Britain; he is also the co-editor, with Philip Lewis, of Lawyers in Society, a path-breaking collection of studies of legal professions around the world, in three volumes. He has also written about law in Africa, in particular South Africa. He is the author or editor of almost two dozen books. He has been an extremely active and productive member of the international law and society community. He has also always been a clear, steady, and consistent voice in pursuit of justice and the rights of the common woman and man. For these and many other reasons, the Research Committee is pleased to recognize him as one of the winners of this year’s Podgorecki prize.