The Lord Chancellor of England once said, "David Dudley Field has done more for the reform of laws than any other man living." The statement was made in the 1870s, but remains as true today as it was then; Field single-handedly revolutionized American and English law, weaning American jurisprudence from common law into codified civil law and procedure. It was no simple task, given the legal system's resistance to change and the political influence lawyers and judges can muster. However, Field's passionate determination to succeed against all odds and regardless of menacing obstacles in his path brought about a legal revolution of unprecedented magnitude.