This is a study, from a sociological/anthropological perspective, of the shifting emphasis in English civil justice from adjudication to settlement and mediation. It gives particular attention to the work of the Mayor's and City of London Court, contextualizing some of the findings of the author's recent fieldwork there, in a discussion of the broader transformations that have taken place in both civil justice and the anthropological and sociological discourse about the nature of law and its place in society. Situated next to the Guildhall, in the heart of the city, the Mayor's and City of London Court claims to be the oldest civil court in England. This volume examines the contemporary work of the court in sponsoring settlement against the backdrop of a Victorian building constructed to deliver trial and judgment.