Comparison as a socio-legal tool: A celebration of Reza Banakar and his work on methodology

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, it is a tribute to Reza Banakar who passed away 27 August 2020. In discussing Reza's work we focus on his use of comparison. Our second purpose is to build on this discussion to explore comparison as a socio-legal methodology, and from thence to outline our deployment of it in Lawyers in 21 st Century Societies. Although Reza rarely discussed comparison as a sociological method, comparison was nevertheless a fundamental tool in his research, underpinning his work on, for instance, law and sociology, inside and outside, lawyers and sociologists, lawyers and theocratic power in Iran, and the strength and weaknesses of different socio-legal methodologies. Reza recommended comparisons that break with disciplinary boundaries. Our approach goes a step further when we move toward a reflexive comparative practice. Key words Reza Banakar socio-legal methodology comparative sociology lawyers in 21 st -century societies reflexive comparative strategy