The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is an independent, nonprofit national research institute established in 1952 and located in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Its mission is to expand knowledge and advance justice by supporting innovative, interdisciplinary and rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes and legal institutions. This program of sociolegal research is conducted by an interdisciplinary staff of Research Faculty trained in such diverse fields as law,

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

. The American Bar Foundation is located in the same building as

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law scho ...

downtown Chicago ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

. The American Bar Foundation supports faculty research and scholarly activity that results in books, reports and essays. The American Bar Foundation Research Faculty produce '' Law and Social Inquiry'' (LSI), a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles, symposia, and review essays examining pressing sociolegal issues. ''Law and Social Inquiry'' is published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

(previously Wiley-Blackwell). The American Bar Foundation publishes '' Researching Law'', a quarterly newsletter. The American Bar Foundation is a resource for lawyers, scholars, and policy makers who seek analyses of the theory and functioning of law, legal institutions, and the legal profession. The American Bar Foundation's work is supported by the American Bar Endowment (ABE), b
The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
and by grants for particular research projects from private foundations and government agencies.

Research programs

The American Bar Foundation's research is organized under three categories: * Learning and practicing law * Protecting rights and accessing justice * Making and implementing Law Research at the American Bar Foundation is implemented through projects designed and conducted by a group of resident Research Faculty. These projects are undertaken following review by an external review body (The Wheeler Committee) and the American Bar Foundation Board of Directors. The American Bar Foundation disseminates its research findings to the organized bar, scholars, and the public. The results of this research are published in academic journals, law reviews, and academic and commercial presses. Research projects conducted at the American Bar Foundation cover issues related to civil justice, criminal justice, law and globalization, legal history, diversity and law, legal education and the legal profession, and social justice. Current projects include: *Access to Justice: This project is intended to bridge the gap between the accessibility of civil legal services and the widespread civil justice problems many Americans. Findings from this significant research have provided knowledge about how civil justice issues impact different communities and how to make civil legal aid more accessible to the people who need it. * Criminal Defense in China: This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and explores the development of criminal procedure law and practice in China, specifically revealing the Chinese government's increasing disregard for the rule of law and human rights. Principal findings from this research were published in the 2016 book ''Criminal Defense in China: The Politics of Lawyers at Work'' by ABF Research Professor Terence Halliday and ABF Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor of Sociology and Law at the University of Toronto, Sida Liu. ''Criminal Defense in China'' was reviewed in the August 2017 issue of '' The New York Review of Books''. * After the JD: This project follows a large national sample of lawyers admitted to the bar in 2000 over the first decade and more of their careers and is a source of information on the changing nature of legal careers. *Surrogate De cision-making at the End of Life: An Observational Study: This project investigates the most significant "life-and-death" decisions made by others who act on behalf of those who are not competent to make their own medical decisions. The study involves the interaction of patient families with health care providers, day after day, in two demographically diverse intensive care units in a large urban teaching hospital. Systematic data has been gathered on patient medical histories, the medical issues and decisions they face, and the interventions made on their behalf. Data on more than one thousand encounters and family meetings between almost 300 health care providers and more than 600 friends, family and significant others of 205 patients without decision-making capacity has been collected. * Future of Latinos in the United States: Law, Opportunity and Mobility: A nation-wide, interdisciplinary research initiative devoted to understanding the current condition of Latinos in the United States, the structural barriers that prevent full equality and integration for this emerging population, and the sites of intervention that promise to be the most impactful in promoting opportunity and mobility through law and policy. The project's mission is to ensure that the Latino population flourishes by generating findings that can be converted into concrete recommendations for reform.

Publications

The American Bar Foundation publishes news and press releases related to the publication of its faculty's research and opinions in academic journals, law reviews and major newspapers or magazines. American Bar Foundation Research Faculty have been mentioned and featured or published opinion editorials in media outlets such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', the '' American Bar Association Journal'' and others. The American Bar Foundation publishes an Annual Report detailing the American Bar Foundation's accomplishments, including the seminars organized and other events held and attended by the American Bar Foundation, the real-world impact of its faculty's research, and publications produced.

Journals, newsletters and reports

Other publications related to the American Bar Foundation include: * After the JD, a national study and in-depth portrait of almost 5,000 law graduates. * ''Researching Law'', a quarterly newsletter designed to acquaint a wide audience with the research activities of the American Bar Foundation. The articles that appear in this publication present the findings of American Bar Foundation projects into a concise, nontechnical format to convey the full flavor of the research reported on. Topics covered have included a history of the American Bar Foundation's undergraduate research diversity program, a profile of the American Bar Foundation's first scholar of Native American legal systems, and in-depth reviews of two books published by American Bar Foundation scholars: ''Rights on Trial: How Workplace Discrimination Law Perpetuates Inequality'' and ''The Sit-Ins: Protest and Legal Change in the Civil Rights Era''. The newsletter is distributed to a wide audience, including the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, policy makers, libraries, foundations, government agencies, and media outlets. * ''Law and Social Inquiry'' (LSI)], a quarterly, interdisciplinary, peer reviewed scholarly journal of international standing in law and the social sciences. Contributors include law and sociology professors, social scientists, and lawyers. ''LSI'' examines criminology, economics, history, law, philosophy, political science, sociology and social psychology. Recent ''LSI'' articles have been awarded numerous distinctions, among them the prestigious Law & Society Association Article Prize. ''LSI'' regularly features symposia, or a series of manuscripts centered on a specific sociolegal theme. In addition to its high quality of original research, ''LSI'' is widely known for its review essays. Review essays are article-length treatments of a book or group of books that situate them within their greater intellectual context and engage with relevant discourse, focusing on the bigger questions the books evoke. Each issue of the journal also includes "book notes" that present brief descriptions of twenty or thirty recently published books of interest to those working in the field of law or the social sciences. ''LSI'' also holds an annual student paper competition for graduate and law students, which includes a monetary prize and publication of the winning paper. ''LSI''s mission is to publish the best sociolegal scholarship from around the world. American Bar Foundation scholars play a critical role in achieving this goal through their service as editors and peer reviewers of the magazine, as well as authors published in the magazine. The American Bar Foundation partnered with

to begin publishing ''LSI'' in January 2019. The journal was formerly published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Books

Books published by American Bar Foundation Research Faculty in recent years include: * ''How To Save A Constitutional Democracy'' * ''The Sit-Ins: Protest and Legal Change in the Civil Rights Era'' * ''Global Lawmakers: International Organizations in the Crafting of World Markets'' * ''Rights on Trial: How Workplace Discrimination Law Perpetuates Inequality'' *''The New Legal Realism: Studying Law Globally'' * ''The Truth about Crime: Sovereignty, Knowledge, Social Order'' * ''Criminal Defense in China: The Politics of Lawyers at Work'' * ''Translating the Social World for Law'' * ''Assessing Constitutional Performance'' * ''Las multiples dimensions del juicio por jurados'' * ''Diversity in Practice: Race, Gender and Class in Legal and Professional Careers'' * ''The New Legal Realism: Translating Law and Society for Today's Legal Practice'' * ''Transnational Legal Orders''

Fellowships

The American Bar Foundation sponsors several fellowship programs. The American Bar Foundation partners with foundations and universities to fund its fellowships, including AccessLex Institute,

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, and the University of Chicago. All fellowships are held in-residence at the American Bar Foundation's offices in Chicago. In 2018, the American Bar Foundation celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Undergraduate Research Diversity Program with a special dinner at the

Drake Hotel Drake Hotel may refer to: ;in Canada *Drake Hotel (Toronto) The Drake Hotel is a hospitality venue on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near Parkdale. In addition to a nineteen-room boutique hotel, there is a restaurant lounge, co ...

in Chicago.

Leadership

The American Bar Foundation's current Interim Executive Director is Bryant Garth. Former directors of the American Bar Foundation include Spencer L. Kimball (a former professor of law at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and former dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School), John P. Heinz (now professor emeritus at the American Bar Foundation and a professor at

), William "Bill" Felstiner, Bryant Garth (now an affiliated research professor at the American Bar Foundation and professor of law at the

University of California at Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 und ...

), and Robert Nelson (now an American Bar Foundation research professor, the American Bar Foundation's MacCrate Research Chair in the Legal Profession, and a professor in the Department of Sociology at

), and Ajay Mehrotra. Mehrotra became Executive Director in 2015. He is a member of the American Bar Foundation Research Faculty and a professor of law at

. The American Bar Foundation is governed by a board of directors that includes David S. Houghton (a business and trial lawyer for Houghton Bradford Whitted P.C. in Omaha, NE) as President; E. Thomas Sullivan (President of the University of Vermont) as Vice-President; Walter L. Sutton, Jr. (a retired corporate attorney and diversity and inclusion consultant at Sutton Consulting Services) as Treasurer; and Jimmy K. Goodman (an attorney at Crowe & Dunlevy) as Secretary. The American Bar Foundation has a Fellows Officers group, a Fellows Research Advisory Committee and an External Research Review Panel (also known as The Wheeler Committee).

Notable Scholars

* Rebecca Sandefur *

Tom Ginsburg Tom Ginsburg (born February 22, 1967) is the Leo Spitz Distinguished Service Professor of International Law and Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is primarily ...

* Terence Halliday
Christopher Schmidt
* James Heckman *

Bonnie Honig Bonnie Honig (born 1959), is a political, feminist, and legal theorist specializing in democratic theory. In 2013-14, she became Nancy Duke Lewis Professor-Elect of Modern Culture and Media and Political Science at Brown University, succeeding Ann ...

* Austan Goolsbee * Elizabeth Mertz
Laura Beth Nielsen

* Carol Heimer *

Robert J. Sampson Robert J. Sampson (born July 9, 1956, in Utica, New York) is the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and Director of the Social Sciences Program at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. From 2005 through 2010 ...

* Stephen Engel * Steven Levitt

References

External links

The American Bar Foundation

American Bar Endowment

Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
* Law and Social Inquiry {{authority control Organizations established in 1952 Legal organizations in Chicago Foundations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Chicago Legal research institutes 1952 establishments in the United States