author
James Allan Park
1763–1838
A Scottish-born British judge and legal writer, he is best remembered for turning complex questions of insurance law into a clear, influential treatise. His career joined the courtroom, Parliament, and legal publishing at a time when commercial law was rapidly taking shape.
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About the author
Born in Edinburgh on April 6, 1763, and brought up in England, James Allan Park was educated at Nottingham Grammar School and went on to Lincoln's Inn. He was called to the bar in 1787 and built a strong reputation on the northern circuit before moving into public life.
Park also sat in Parliament before being appointed to the Court of Common Pleas, where he served as a judge for many years. He was known not only as a lawyer and judge, but as a writer whose work helped explain complicated parts of commercial law to practitioners and students.
His best-known book, A System of the Law of Marine Insurances, first published in 1800, became an important legal text and helped secure his lasting reputation. He died on December 8, 1838.