The talk presents first results from a binational research project that examines the contours and cultures in the field of law and society in Germany and the UK. The project pursues an ambitious mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative interview data, quantitative survey data and bibliometric data on socio-legal knowledge production. Using selected examples from our dataset, we demonstrate how very different the situation is for socio-legal scholars in Germany and the UK. Based on this diagnosis, we present some preliminary hypotheses that explain how these different trajectories have developed.