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American Bar Foundation
@abfresearch.bsky.social
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.
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
August 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
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!
August 19, 2025 at 2:58 PM
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
August 8, 2025 at 2:01 PM
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
August 8, 2025 at 1:24 PM
“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
August 8, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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.
July 14, 2025 at 10:02 PM
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
June 10, 2025 at 4:07 PM
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.
May 23, 2025 at 9:13 PM
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
May 23, 2025 at 5:39 PM
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...
May 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
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/
May 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM
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.
March 25, 2025 at 8:03 PM
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...
March 4, 2025 at 7:08 PM
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.
February 14, 2025 at 9:37 PM
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-...
February 6, 2025 at 11:55 PM
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...
February 5, 2025 at 3:58 PM