Her mother, Rose, was a schoolteacher who had a strong interest in justice and would express her views in letters to the press.

She has been involved in conferences on directing the study of law to be more integral to society, rather than insulated and isolated from other institutions as it often is now.

Nader edited and published essays from these conferences and authored several books on the anthropology of law, establishing herself as one of the most influential figures in the development of the field.

Nader believes this reflects their society, economic system, hierarchal structure and other institutions or variables.

She concludes that the kinds of cases people bring to court reflect areas of stress in the social structure of a community.

Nader also argues that harmony ideology has been an important basis for a number of unsubstantiated legal ideas in the United States developed since the 1960s, including potential "litigation explosions" and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a method for moving "garbage cases" from the courtroom into an arena that emphasizes harmony, compromise and the language of therapy over talk of injustice.

"[3] Nader has coined the term "trustanoia" to describe the antonym of paranoia and the state of Americans' feeling of trust of others.

She contends that people in the United States trust that there is always someone there to take care of them, and that everyone (including legislators and politicians) acts in their interest.