Harvard East Asian Legal Studies
East Asian Legal Studies is the United States’ oldest academic program devoted to the study of the law and legal history of the nations and peoples of East Asia and their interaction with the United States. The program was created in 1965 in response to increasing interest among lawyers and scholars of international and comparative law in the legal cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
Harvard Law School offers instruction on the legal systems of East Asia and sponsors in-depth research conducted by scholars in residence. Joint programs of study can also be arranged on an individual basis with other parts of Harvard University. An active extracurricular program includes a lunchtime speaker series that combines lectures and discussions on Asian legal themes in an informal setting, a workshop series providing a more formal setting for the presentation of research projects, and foreign language discussion groups on legal issues.
EALS is directed by William P. Alford and guided by a faculty advisory committee which includes Professor Alford, Professor Mark Ramseyer, and Professor Mark Wu. It is funded by independent grants and charitable contributions.
Below are the in-print works in this collection. Sort by title, author, format, publication date, or price »
![]() | Law and Investment in Japan: Cases and Materials, Second Edition Law and Investment in Japan introduces both Japanese law and the strategic issues that arise in cross-border transactions. Centered around the details of an actual joint venture between the U.S. and Japan, the book combines materials from the transaction itself with cases, statutes, and background data. | |
![]() | Raising the Bar: The Emerging Legal Profession in East Asia Over the past two decades, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia have been engaged in unprecedented efforts to recast and rapidly expand the legal profession—with profound implications not only for law, but also for politics, international relations, and society itself. Raising the Bar is the first book-length study in English of this phenomenon. |