Rare dictionary is symbolic millionth edition
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas School of Law will celebrate the acquisition of its millionth volume in December.
The rare dictionary, the first edition of John Rastell's Exposicions of (th)e Termys of (th)e Law of England was printed in London circa 1523. This book is a landmark not only in the history of English law, but in the history of the English language as well.
A generous gift from the Jamail Center's namesake, Joseph D. Jamail, 1953, made this acquisition possible.
In honor of the event, the Jamail Center for Legal Research will host a symposium Law and Language, scheduled for December 6-8, 2001. The event will bring together leading legal experts together to discuss the ways in which language historically has influenced legal institutions and the implications for the future.
Speakers will include John H. Baker and Sir David Williams of Cambridge University; Peter Birks of the University of Oxford; Morris L. Cohen and Fred R. Shapiro of Yale Law School; Bryan A. Garner, 1984, editor of Black's Law Dictionary; Christopher Ricks of Boston University; Richard Weisberg of Cardozo Law School; and Victor Tunkel, Secretary of the Selden Society. These panelists will discuss topics as diverse as "The Evolution of Legal Lexicography," "The Plain Language Movement," and "The Law In Context."
On December 6, a pre-conference workshop will be given on "Collecting Law Books and Manuscripts". Anthony Taussig, considered the world's leading private collector of rare English law books and manuscripts, will be teaching this highly interactive workshop.
The pre-conference workshop has sold out, but spaces are still available for the conference. Registration materials are found online at http://www.law.utexas.edu/conference/index.html or call Rhonda Hankins at (512) 232-3819.
In addition, the Jamail Center has acquired an early Roman law dictionary as its symbolic Million-and-First Volume which will be officially introduced into the collection during the Language & the Law conference. The Vocabularius Utriusque Juris was published in Basel, Switzerland in 1488. This dictionary was a standard reference book in 15th century European legal practice, and it is now the oldest book in the Jamail Center's Rare Book Collection. Several Law School alumni donated the funds to acquire this book: Bryan A. Garner, 1984, and his wife Pan Garner; Jenkins Garrett, 1937; the Hon. Joe R. Greenhill, Sr., 1939; Chauncey D. Leake, Jr., 1955; and Jenni Parrish, 1978.
The Language and the Law conference has been accredited by the State Bar of Texas for up to 10.5 hours of Continuing Legal Education credit. Attorneys licensed in other states should contact their individual state bar organizations for information regarding the availability of CLE credit in other states.
"Roy Mersky's hard work and dedication to building and maintaining one of the top law libraries in the country is unparalleled. We congratulate him and the library on this impressive accomplishment," said UT Law Dean Bill Powers.
The Tarlton Law Library is a division of the Jamail Center for Legal research. It is the fifth largest academic law library in the country with approximately 1,000,000 volumes. The present building, Jesse H. Jones Hall, opened in 1980 and is the largest academic law library building in the country with over 167,000 square feet of floor space. The Library serves an academic community of 1500 full-time law students and 100 faculty members.
Further links:
Conference information and registration: http://www.law.utexas.edu/conference/index.html
The Law Dictionary collection at the Jamail Center for Legal Research: http://www.law.utexas.edu/rare/dictsweb.html