Sally Engle Merry and Global Legal Pluralism

Abstract

When I started out as a law professor in 1998, I had the extraordinary good fortune to be invited to join a law, culture, and society reading group hosted at Amherst College. This group was fundamental to my development as a scholar in a great many ways, but among the most important was that it brought me into contact with Sally Engle Merry. And Sally, being the incredibly friendly and generous person that she was, extended herself to me from the start, offering her mentorship, providing advice, and generally serving as a bright-spirited and supportive academic comrade. Over the next two decades, we stayed in regular contact. We participated in panels and workshops together. Sally commented on my work, both formally and informally. And nearly every book or article I have published over the past 15 years cites Sally at least once. Finally, I am honored that perhaps Sally's last published work appeared in print shortly after her death in a volume I edited, The Oxford Handbook of Global Legal Pluralism (Berman 2020a). The last email I have from her was typical. She offered enthusiastic congratulations to me on finishing this book, with no reference to her own role as a crucial contributor. Even as her own strength was ebbing, she was a cheerleader for others.