Discovering the Law Again: John Grisham, Ed Stevens and the Postmaterial Lawyer

This paper uses three films adapted from the novels of John Grisham, The Firm, The Rainmaker and A Time To Kill, as well as associated television series like Ed to map a vernacular theory of what I have termed the 'postmaterial' lawyer. Grisham's work has been the focus of much critique by legal scholars who suggests he hates lawyers, is critical of the concept of law, and provides 'outlandishly' happy endings. I will challenge these critiques and, in tracing the history of legal thrillers and trial movies, suggest that Grisham and the related texts' explorations of how a just practitioner can operate in an unjust system constitute a powerful interrogation of what law can be.

Polyethylene-layered silicate nanocomposites for rotational moulding

A series of polyethylene-layered silicate nanocomposites has been studied as possible new candidates for rotational moulding. Two organically treated layered silicates were melt-compounded into a maleated linear low-density polyethylene host polymer at loadings of 6 and 9%, by weight. The morphology and properties of the nanocomposites were assessed by using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, parallel-plate rheometry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The sintering behaviour of the nanocomposites was qualitatively assessed via hot-stage microscopy, indicating that the choice of nanofiller will play an important role in terms of producing nanocomposite materials with acceptable processability for rotational moulding. (C) 2003 Society of Chemical Industry.