Sheppard Releases All-New Law Dictionary

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William H. Enfield Professor of Law Steve Sheppard

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A University of Arkansas law professor has created an indispensible tool for legal practitioners and students. Edited by Steve Sheppard, the William H. Enfield Professor of Law, The Bouvier Law Dictionary is based on the first major dictionary of American law.

This iteration of Bouvier, published by Wolters Kluwer, a global law publisher based in Amsterdam, has been completely rewritten and contains more than 10,000 terms and phrases in 8,000 entries, covering more than 1,200 pages. However, what differentiates it from other law dictionaries is not only the number of terms it defines, but also the extensive, useful context it provides for each term. The dictionary adds to its accessibility through its contemporary writing style and its availability in print, in digital format and as a mobile application.

“John Bouvier wrote the dictionary read and used by John Marshall, Daniel Webster and Abraham Lincoln,” said Sheppard. “The great lawyers of American history loved this book because it was thorough, clear and authoritative. Still, you can read it and understand it. I was very proud that Wolters Kluwer asked me to rewrite this great American classic.”

Sheppard enlisted the help of dozens of University of Arkansas law students and staff members while writing the dictionary. Current and former law students provided research and draft definitions, while members of the office of university relations worked with Sheppard to produce the voice work on the mobile applications. Sheppard also was supported in his research by the Enfield Professorship and by the University of Arkansas School of Law dean’s fund for summer research.

“The Bouvier Law Dictionary enjoys a long and proud tradition within the U.S. legal community," said Stacy L. Leeds, dean of the School of Law. “Thanks to professor Sheppard’s leadership and the many UA law students who assisted him in this work, there is now a strong Arkansas tie to this publication’s rich history. Given its accuracy and usefulness, and the obvious care and hard work that professor Sheppard put into it, Bouvier is poised to retake its place as the go-to law dictionary.”

Sheppard’s other works include editions of The Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke, Karl Llewellyn’s The Bramble Bush and E. Allan Farnsworth’s An Introduction to the Legal System of the United States. He also wrote with George Fletcher American Law in a Global Context, and in 2009 Cambridge University Press published his I Do Solemnly Swear: The Moral Obligations of Legal Officials.