Critical Legal Studies (CLS) began as a movement in the late 1970s that criticized traditional legal scholarship. It argued that law is inherently ideological and does not neutrally produce outcomes, but rather perpetuates the interests of the powerful. CLS examines how power relationships in society shape the law and examines issues like indeterminacy, contradiction, and false consciousness. It includes subgroups like feminist legal theory and critical race theory. CLS has been influential though also criticized for being incoherent and lacking clear prescriptions.