Relational Work and the Law: Recapturing the Legal Realist Critique of Market Fundamentalism

A global financial crisis seems a propitious time to renew a dialogue between legal scholarship and the field of economic sociology. In the 1920s and 1930s, legal realist scholars developed insightful analyses of market processes. But since post‐war mainstream legal scholarship has largely ignored this aspect of legal realism, economic sociology might be helpful in refocusing legal scholarship on what happens in actual market settings. One tool is Zelizer's concept of relational work; that in market transactions, actors must define the nature of their relationship, what is to be exchanged, and by what media. Relational work has an enormous impact on the outcomes of transactions, but it is largely ignored in economic accounts. An empirical study of variations in relational work across economic settings could provide a strong foundation for rethinking the relationship between law and economic activity.