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On June 20, 1997, the New York Times obituary for James Willard Hurst described him as the “dean of American Legal Historians.”<ref>Gelder, sec. B, pg. 8, col. 5, <i>New York Times</i>, June 20, 1997.</ref> While few legal historians would have challenged this description of Hurst, it hardly encompassed the full scope of his career. Hurst was a legal historian, a prolific scholar (he wrote seventeen books, numerous journal articles and book reviews), a historical sociologist and a legal education reformer. Hurst was not only the most prominent legal historian of his day, but he had broader goal by attempting to explain how law fit into the fabric of American life. He also founded the “Law and Society” movement which sought to bring a more interdisciplinary approach to American legal education by emphasizing the importance of social sciences. Hurst worked hard throughout his career to reform both legal history and education.