It‎'‎s a common complaint‎:‎ the United States is overrun by rules and procedures that shackle professional judgment‎,‎ have no valid purpose‎,‎ and serve only to appease courts and lawyers‎.‎ Charles R‎.‎ Epp argues‎,‎ however‎,‎ that few Americans would want to return to an era without these legalistic policies‎,‎ which in the 1970s helped bring recalcitrant bureaucracies in line with a growing national commitment to civil rights and individual dignity‎.‎ Focusing on three disparate policy areas ‎- workplace sexual harassment‎,‎ playground safety‎,‎ and police brutality in both the United States and the United Kingdom ‎- Epp explains how activists and professionals used legal liability‎,‎ lawsuit‎-generated publicity‎,‎ and innovative managerial ideas to pursue the implementation of new rights‎.‎ Together‎,‎ these strategies resulted in frameworks designed to make institutions accountable through intricate rules‎,‎ employee training‎,‎ and managerial oversight‎.‎ Explaining how these practices became ubiquitous across bureaucratic organizations‎,‎ Epp casts today‎'‎s legalistic state in an entirely new light‎.‎