A Tradition of Legal Publishing Excellence
Celebrating 225 years of Sweet & Maxwell
We are delighted to be celebrating our 225th anniversary in 2024, a significant milestone in Sweet & Maxwell's history. This occasion presents an opportunity to reflect on our rich heritage and the contribution Sweet & Maxwell publications have made to the legal landscape and literature over the centuries. We are proud to support and promote the rule of law and enable legal professionals to work smarter and faster.
225 years ago, in 1799, Stephen Sweet set up his bookselling business on Chancery Lane and soon after, in 1800, Alexander Maxwell similarly opened a shop on Fetter Lane. In the early 1800s, in Bell Yard off Fleet Street (next to what is now the Royal Courts of Justice) they soon began publishing the market leading books which have become the bedrock of the Sweet & Maxwell Print, ProView eBook, and Westlaw Books portfolio. Covering all practice areas and across book, journal, and looseleaf formats, the portfolio developed into the comprehensive and broad-ranging list we prize today.
Woodfall: Landlord & Tenant was first published in 1802, making it the world's oldest legal textbook in continuous publication. Archbold's Criminal Cases was first published in 1822, followed by The White Book in 1883, which first published as "The Annual Practice". Kerly on Trade Marks and Copinger on Copyright were the first books launched on Westlaw in 2000. ProView, the Thomson Reuters eBook platform, launched in 2012 with the White Book and Archbold the first titles to go live. W. Green, the Scottish Law Publisher, became part of Sweet & Maxwell in 1956 followed in 1994 by the merger of Brehon Publishing and The Round Hall Press to form Round Hall (Sweet & Maxwell) in Dublin.
Sweet & Maxwell has evolved hugely over the years as a business. Manuscripts are no longer handwritten, nor is typesetting done laboriously letter by letter. Technology, digitisation and, more recently, AI have changed all aspects of law and the way legal information is consumed. But the history, longevity, and tradition behind these famous books, household names for the legal profession, are truly something to celebrate.
Thomson Reuters' trusted Sweet & Maxwell publications stand for consistency, authority, and reliability all over the legal world. Sweet & Maxwell commentary continues to inform the way forward today, just as much as it has over the previous 225 years. Take a look at our 225-year timeline below to find out more about our history.
Browse the collection
- Arnould: Law of Marine Insurance and Average - A brief history by David Walsh
- Chitty on Contracts - A remarkable survivor by Hugh Beale
- Clerk & Lindsell on Torts – A brief history by Andrew Tettenborn
- Gloag and Henderson: Introduction to the Law of Scotland by Hector L MacQueen CBE FBA FRSE
- Jervis on the Office and Duties of Coroners by Paul Matthews
- The history and influence of McGregor on Damages by James Edelman
- The Evolution of Evidence and Phipson on Evidence 1892-2024 by Hodge M. Malek KC
- Scrutton on Charterparties and Bills of Lading – A brief history by David Foxton
- A Tale of Two Dictionaries – Stroud and Jowitt by Daniel Greenberg CB
- The White Book through time by Dr. John Sorabji
- A history of Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks: Executors, Administrators and Probate, and Theobald on Wills by Alexander Learmonth K.C.