Acknowledgments
The Law of Freedom was written during my time at Jesus College, University of Cambridge and Southampton Law School, University of Southampton. I am grateful to these institutions for their support, as well as to the Centre for Research in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge where early steps for developing this book were taken.
Furthermore, this book was presented at multiple conferences during its development, which were invaluable for its refinement. Ideas and a chapter draft were shared at the Roundtable on Systems Theory and Human Rights at Lancaster University (organized by Steven Wheatley and invited by Eric Heinze) and at the Southeastern Associate of Law Schools Conference in 2017 (organized by Atiba Ellis) and 2019 (organized by Josh Douglas and Franita Tolson). An entire early draft was presented at a conference at Southampton Law School in July 2019, attended by Greg Conti, Chris Macleod, Hayley Hooper, Adam Lebovitz, Sam Zeitlin, David Gurnham, Uta Kohl, Alun Gibbs, Haris Psarras, and Jonathan Havercroft, where I received invaluable advice and feedback that shaped the rest of the book. Further iterations of portions of the book were presented at the University of Georgia Law School in 2019 (facilitated by Lori Ringhand) and at the AALS Election Law Section in January 2021 (organized by Gene Mazo). A near-final version of the book was presented at the Southeastern Associate of Law Schools Conference in the summer of 2022 at a dedicated workshop, attended by Richard Briffault, Michael Kang, Jim Gardner, Benji Cover, Lori Ringhand, Pedro Gerson, Atiba Ellis, Anthony Gaughan, Josh Douglas, and Gene Mazo, who provided exceptional advice and thoughts on the book’s completion, and at Southampton Law School in the fall of 2022. Certain persons, moreover, read multiple drafts of this book independently as well as at these events and provided thoughtful feedback that improved the book immensely. Exceptional thanks to Richard Briffault, Michael Kang, Jim Gardner, Eric Beerbohm, Adam Lebovitz, Jonathan Havercroft, Sam Zeitlin, and Samuli Seppänen. Thanks are also due to those who engaged at various points with particular chapters within or outside any formal context or engaged in vibrant discussion related to its ideas – thanks to Adriaan Lanni, Uta Kohl, Helen Carr, Nick Stephanopoulos, Rick Pildes, Derek Muller, Bertrall Ross, Mike Parsons, Peter Turner, Justin DuRivage, Evan Miller, Billy Magnuson, Michael da Silva, and Joel Fleming.
As a first major project, moreover, this book reflects long-standing investment and generosity by colleagues, mentors, and teachers, whose brief mention here can only be a gesture toward my gratitude and thankfulness. During my undergraduate years at Williams College, Darel Paul, William Dudley, Michael MacDonald, Alan De Gooyer, Nicole Mellow, Philip Weinstein, David Bullwinkle, Peter Grudin, Lynn Chick, Steven Tifft, and Stephanie Solum were more generous than could be asked and helped my intellectual and personal growth immensely. John Dunn, Quentin Skinner, and Harald Wydra were monumental presences in my time as an MPhil student at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In my time at Harvard as a law student, Adriaan Lanni, Bruce Mann, Carol Steiker, Lawrence Lessig, and Michael Klarman were mentors as well as great teachers in the law school and have continued to be so into my career. Eric Beerbohm, Eric Nelson, Nancy Rosenblum, and Richard Tuck were extraordinarily supportive during my time as a Harvard political science PhD student and into my career as an academic. My time as a clerk with the Honorable Judge Gerard Lynch was both an apex of my time in practice and forged my skills as a lawyer, with a fantastic community of fellow clerks Ana Muñoz, Antonio Haynes, and Lena Hughes. As I joined the scholarly community, Michael Kang, Richard Briffault, George Brown, Jim Gardner, Lori Ringhand, David Landau, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Jo Shaw, and Atiba Ellis have been particularly welcoming colleagues and mentors. During my time at Jesus College, Findlay Stark, Claire Fenton-Glynn, Michael Waibel, Geoff Parks, Ian White, Simon Deakin, Jeremy Green, Grego Conti, David Howarth, Jon Morgan, Antje du Bois-Pedain, Francois Du Bois, Jodi Gardner, Alison Young, Duncan Kelly, and Peter Turner provided the finest possible support network to begin one’s scholarly career. At Southampton Law School, Uta Kohl, Brenda Hannigan, Werner Scholtz, Harry Annison, Nina Jorgensen, Helen Carr, Jan Steele, Jonathan Havercroft, and Alun Gibbs have been particularly valued colleagues.
At Cambridge University Press, Matt Gallaway’s wisdom has been matched only by his patience, and Jadyn Fauconier-Herry has provided excellent support through the publishing process. Kelley Friel provided an exceptionally thoughtful, timely, and helpful close edit of the text for which I am profoundly grateful, and Mabel Newton provided a heroic effort in tracking down and updating references.
None of this would have been possible without the support of a network of friends (some of whom have also been colleagues) who have provided support, intellectual and emotional, through the writing of this text. A mention here is only a glinting reflection of the gratitude I owe to Michael Eros, Michael Stern, Alexis Medina, Billy Magnuson, Evan Miller, Tom Wolf, Teddy McGehee, Eileen Bevis, Richard Rodriguez, Chris Douglas, Alexis Saba, Emily Bryk, Gabe Katsh, Si Rutherford, Peter Leek, Tim Taylor, Vanessa Badino, Pete Deutsch, Jeff Garland, Adam Kinon, Tommy Hutton, Joel Fleming, Meg Krench, Ben Weiner, Scott Caplan, John Playforth, Ani Ravi, Sam Flaks, Lior Ziv, Julian Feldman, Chad Priest, Rob Glass, Samuli Seppänen, Elaine and Arie Hochberg, Cesar and Luann Medina, Vanessa Maire, Serene Hung, Adam Lebovitz, Graham Clure and Maddy Dungy, Tae-Yeoun Keum, Jen Page, Aidan Finley, Yaron Peleg, Thiago Uehara, Miriam Wagner, Nita Felizardo, Edmund Gazeley, Jeff Hendrickson, and Peter Turner.
Finally, wherever I have gone, I have had a home with Sue, Dave, and Jon. Thank you, and I love you.
