American Bar Foundation
@abfresearch
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is a sociolegal research institute. We conduct rigorous, empirical research that explores the intersection of law and society—creating insights that underpin today’s most pressing issues.
We were honored to welcome artist Josh Montgomery @joshmontgomeryart.bsky.social to our Ruth Bader Ginsburg Endowed Fund event in New York City, where he presented Equals?, his original tribute to Justice Ginsburg's legacy. Watch Joshua's recap of the event here: youtu.be/gSMU4jY5iGM?...
11 years since the "709 Crackdown" on China's human rights lawyers. Tune in for the 10th China Human Rights Lawyers Day global webinar, with closing remarks from ABF's Terry Halliday. 📅 July 9, 2026 | 9:00am ET 🔗 www.youtube.com/live/EV1lV1t...
Thank you to NAPABA for welcoming ABF to its 2025 convention, where we hosted a reception for Portrait Project 2.0 w/ remarks by ABF Research Prof. Ajay Mehrotra and Hon. Goodwin Liu on why Asian Americans remain underrepresented in the legal profession. www.americanbarfoundation.org/projects/por...
Join the ABF's Access to Justice Research Initiative and FGV Law School São Paulo: Monday, August 25, 7:20 AM–3:30 PM CT for "Envisioning a People-Centered Justice Research and Data Agenda for Latin America"— a one-day conference available via livestream. ☑️ RSVP for livestream: lnkd.in/dyWTZAYR
Thank you to all who joined us in Toronto! The Fellows of the ABF hosted several memorable events during the @americanbar.org's #ABAAnnual — from the CLE Program: "Safeguarding Democracy" to the Fellows Business Breakfast. We look forward to next year's #ABAMidyear in San Antonio Texas!
Concluding the panel, Deborah Enix-Ross urges the audience, “It’s important for us to pull together on this fundamental aspect of the legal profession. . . . to consider the things we, in the profession, can—and should—be doing now.” #ABAAnnual @americanbar.org
Huq and past ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross are joined by @syracuselaw.bsky.social's David Driesen, who argues an insufficiently constrained presidency is one of the biggest systemic threats to democracy. Driesen urges the US to learn from the mistakes of Hungary, Poland, and Turkey. #ABAAnnual
“Looking across backsliding democracies, you see a distinctive pattern in which law is deployed as an instrument to unravel democratic institutions.” At the Fellows CLE at #ABAAnnual, ABF Affil. Scholar Aziz Huq opens a talk on evolving tactics and efforts to defend rule of law. @americanbar.org
The ABF thanks Mark Suchman for nearly two years of dedicated service and contributions to the organization’s mission. As of July 11, Suchman stepped down from the role of Executive Director and will continue with the ABF as a Research Professor, jointly appointed at @purdueuniversity.bsky.social.
In Discounting Life, ABF Research Prof. Jothie Rajah takes readers through the unsettling normalization of extrajudicial killings. As a critical reflection on contemporary justice, this is essential reading. Get 20% off with code RAJAH2025. @cambup-law.cambridge.org www.cambridge.org/9781009074650
What happens when we study law not as doctrine but as lived experience? At "New Legal Realism at 20" at #LSAChicago2025, ABF alum Jeffrey Omari chaired a lively discussion on how NLR is made for moments like this and explored what we learn by comparing how societies confront similar populist crises.
Congratulations to Robert L. Nelson (MacCrate Research Chair in the Legal Profession) & @jurygirl.bsky.social (Wheeler Committee Chair), corecipients of @lawandsociety.bsky.social's 2025 Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize! Honored for a body of work advancing law & society research. 🎉 #LSAChicago2025
Can't wait for #LSAChicago2025? Join ABF and Northwestern Pritzker Law on Wed., 5/21 for a free webinar, Juries in the Americas: Variation and Change, examining how jury systems across the Americas have taken shape and changed over time. #lawandsociety www.americanbarfoundation.org/juries-in-th...
Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for the launch of Governing the Global Clinic: HIV and the Legal Transformation of Medicine by ABF Research Prof. Carol Heimer! 📘👏 @uchicagopress.bsky.social For upcoming events visit our website: 🔗 www.americanbarfoundation.org/news-events/
Don't miss "A Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law", a talk by the Hon. Goodwin H. Liu, Assoc. Justice, Supreme Court of California, in conversation with ABF Research Prof. @ajaykmehrotra.bsky.social. Hosted by the Asian American Initiative at Columbia University on Thursday, March 27.
Judicial opinions aren’t just legal texts—they reflect partisan motivations. A new study in @plosone.org by former ABF Visiting Scholar Daniel L. Chen and Wei Lu finds increasing polarization in judges' writing, with Supreme Court hopefuls displaying strongest bias. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Great discussion Tues. with CA Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu and ABF Research Prof. Ajay Mehrotra on Portrait Project 2.0. A big thank you to @lathamwatkins.bsky.social and AABA Chicago for continued support for this research shaping conversations around representation in the legal profession.
In January, the ABF welcomed Visiting Scholar @hilakeren.bsky.social of Southwestern Law School! With an interest in the relationship b/w law and social change, Keren is at work on a book on contract law and how this field could be made more inclusive. www.americanbarfoundation.org/people/hila-...
How do Shariah scholars engage with financial experts to reshape markets? At today's ABF Speaker Series, Visiting Scholar Aaron Pitluck of @illinoisstateu.bsky.social examines meaning-making in Islamic investment banks in Malaysia for a forthcoming book. www.americanbarfoundation.org/event/speake...