Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
BOOK REVIEW
LAWYER, SCHOLAR, TEACHER AND ACTIVIST
A Liber Amicorum in Honour of Derek Roebuck
Edited by Neil Kaplan and Robert Morgan
ISBN 978 0 95721 539 9
THE ARBITRATION PRESS/HOLO BOOKS
holobooks.co.uk
A SUPERB COLLECTION OF ESSAYS AS A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF DEREK ROEBUCK
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
This excellent work, “Lawyer, Scholar, Teacher, and Activist”, has been edited by Neil Kaplan and Robert Morgan. It has been published by the Arbitration Press and Holo Books. It offers us a superb collection of essays, lectures, tributes, and reminiscences to honour the life, work, influence, and achievements of the late Professor Derek Roebuck (1935–2020) who is sadly missed.
Derek is rightly described as a “scholar, teacher, lawyer, prolific author, researcher, editor, human rights activist, and feminist”. He will be known to many readers as the creator of a widely acclaimed ten-volume series chronicling the international history of arbitration and mediation from Ancient Greece to the ‘Long’ eighteenth century (1700–1815). These excellent books represent a magnificent achievement of historic and legal significance for lawyers and historians.
And these scholarly contributions “embrace a wide variety of subjects and reflect the breadth of Derek’s interests, learning and expertise” which we are most grateful to have. Topics include this interesting list: the rule of law, transnational and comparative commercial law, modernisation of laws in South East Asia, leading arbitration personalities in early modern England, two US-related commentaries (one on mediation and arbitration in colonial America by Derek, and one on the post- Civil War Alabama arbitration of 1871–1872), transparency and efficiency in modern international commercial arbitration, the role of modern mediation in resolving conflicts, and a literature review of Derek’s histories.
For us, it’s the diversity of Derek’s interests plus the esteem in which he is held that reflect the broad array of contributions penned by colleagues and co-authors including his wife Susanna Hoe. Students, friends, and other contemporaries from an equally broad array of backgrounds.
In addition to the scholarly contributions, there are some “In Memoriam” tributes which reveal the depth and extent to which Derek influenced, guided, mentored, and touched the lives of everyone he met.
Also featured is a selection of papers presented as part of the Roebuck Lectures, a series inaugurated by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2011 to commemorate Roebuck’s ten years as Editor of its journal, “Arbitration”. Two of the featured lectures are published here for the first time. The lectures address subjects close to Derek’s heart, such as ethics, diversity, human rights, and the historical development of dispute resolution processes. Also included is his own “Inaugural Lecture” of 2011 calling for a fundamental rethink of dispute management which is, frankly, long overdue.
The date of publication of this new hardback edition is cited as 20th April 2021.
BOOK REVIEW
LAWYER, SCHOLAR, TEACHER AND ACTIVIST
A Liber Amicorum in Honour of Derek Roebuck
Edited by Neil Kaplan and Robert Morgan
ISBN 978 0 95721 539 9
THE ARBITRATION PRESS/HOLO BOOKS
holobooks.co.uk
A SUPERB COLLECTION OF ESSAYS AS A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF DEREK ROEBUCK
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
This excellent work, “Lawyer, Scholar, Teacher, and Activist”, has been edited by Neil Kaplan and Robert Morgan. It has been published by the Arbitration Press and Holo Books. It offers us a superb collection of essays, lectures, tributes, and reminiscences to honour the life, work, influence, and achievements of the late Professor Derek Roebuck (1935–2020) who is sadly missed.
Derek is rightly described as a “scholar, teacher, lawyer, prolific author, researcher, editor, human rights activist, and feminist”. He will be known to many readers as the creator of a widely acclaimed ten-volume series chronicling the international history of arbitration and mediation from Ancient Greece to the ‘Long’ eighteenth century (1700–1815). These excellent books represent a magnificent achievement of historic and legal significance for lawyers and historians.
And these scholarly contributions “embrace a wide variety of subjects and reflect the breadth of Derek’s interests, learning and expertise” which we are most grateful to have. Topics include this interesting list: the rule of law, transnational and comparative commercial law, modernisation of laws in South East Asia, leading arbitration personalities in early modern England, two US-related commentaries (one on mediation and arbitration in colonial America by Derek, and one on the post- Civil War Alabama arbitration of 1871–1872), transparency and efficiency in modern international commercial arbitration, the role of modern mediation in resolving conflicts, and a literature review of Derek’s histories.
For us, it’s the diversity of Derek’s interests plus the esteem in which he is held that reflect the broad array of contributions penned by colleagues and co-authors including his wife Susanna Hoe. Students, friends, and other contemporaries from an equally broad array of backgrounds.
In addition to the scholarly contributions, there are some “In Memoriam” tributes which reveal the depth and extent to which Derek influenced, guided, mentored, and touched the lives of everyone he met.
Also featured is a selection of papers presented as part of the Roebuck Lectures, a series inaugurated by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2011 to commemorate Roebuck’s ten years as Editor of its journal, “Arbitration”. Two of the featured lectures are published here for the first time. The lectures address subjects close to Derek’s heart, such as ethics, diversity, human rights, and the historical development of dispute resolution processes. Also included is his own “Inaugural Lecture” of 2011 calling for a fundamental rethink of dispute management which is, frankly, long overdue.
The date of publication of this new hardback edition is cited as 20th April 2021.
