UCLA School of Law professor Adam Winkler has won the 2019 Scribes Book Award for his celebrated exploration of corporate personhood, We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights (Liveright/W.W. Norton, 2018).

Presented annually by the American Society of Legal Writers since 1961, the prestigious honor goes to “the best work of legal scholarship published during the previous year.” Previous winners include Jonathan Harr for A Civil Action, the Hon. Richard Posner for The Federal Courts: Crisis and Reform and Laurence Tribe for American Constitutional Law.

We the Corporations uncovers the deep historical roots of Citizens United v. FEC by showing how that controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision was the capstone of a 200-year battle over corporate personhood and constitutional protections for business.

Since its early 2018 release, Winkler’s book has drawn widespread acclaim, including appearances on several critics’ lists of the most notable books of the year, a nomination for a 2018 National Book Critics Circle nonfiction award, and commendation as a finalist for a 2018 National Book Award for nonfiction, among the highest honors in publishing and literature.

Winkler is also the author of Gun Fight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America (W.W. Norton, 2013).