Knowledge powers the pursuit of justice.
- News
February 2, 2023
American Bar Foundation
We conduct research that explores the intersection of
law and society—to expand knowledge and advance justice.
Our groundbreaking research is used to:
Spark conversations
about the world's
most pressing issues
most pressing issues
Shape law and policy
by informing lawmakers,
practitioners, and the judiciary
practitioners, and the judiciary
Influence societies
in the U.S. and
across the world
across the world
Featured Research
- Books
Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights
Penningroth reveals how African Americans have thought about, talked about, and used the law from the era of slavery to the 1970s.
Read More
In the News
- News
Mark Suchman Appointed Professor of Sociology at Purdue University
February 29, 2024
Mark Suchman, ABF Research Professor and Executive Director, has joined the Purdue University faculty in the College of Liberal Arts as a Professor of Sociology. Suchman comes to Purdue from Brown University, where he led the Sociology Department’s Work, Organizations, and Economy Program and directed the Organizational… Read More
- Access To Justice
The ABF Access to Justice Research Initiative and NORC Receive $2 Million Award from Bureau of Justice Statistics for Access to Justice Design and Testing Program
January 16, 2024
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) Access to Justice Research Initiative and NORC at the University of Chicago have been selected by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) through a competitive process to review, develop, and test a… Read More
- News
The ABF Receives Annual Grant of Nearly $3.7 Million from the American Bar Endowment for 2023-24 Fiscal Year
September 27, 2023
The American Bar Endowment (ABE) has approved its annual grant to the American Bar Foundation (ABF), of nearly $3.7 million for the 2023-24 fiscal year. This grant will support the ABF’s interdisciplinary, empirical research on law and policy. “We deeply appreciate the American Bar Endowment’s… Read More
Featured Researcher
Sonya Rao
ABF/ National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Law and Inequality
Sonya Rao is a linguistic and legal anthropologist who examines working conditions in multilingual legal spaces. At the ABF, she is investigating the current state of training to communicate across languages in clinical legal education. In this feature, Rao discusses inadequate language services in legal settings, the unequal distribution of work among bilingual law students in legal clinics, and proposes ways to improve collaboration between legal and language professionals.
Featured Event
March 19, 2024
"Democracy at Risk: Can Understanding Our Past Protect Our Future?"
Join the ABF for a provocative discussion about the role of education in safeguarding democracy
FELLOWS EVENT
Virtual
Upcoming Events
More
"Democracy at Risk: Can Understanding Our Past Protect Our Future?"
Join the ABF for a provocative discussion about the role of education in safeguarding democracy
FELLOWS EVENT
Virtual
Chicana/o Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
“Healing in the Face of Legal Violence: Kinship, Community Care, and Transformation"
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
- Podcasts
Episode 8: Season One Finale: When Law Meets Society
The season finale of Season 1 of Whose Law is it Anyway explores the impact of ABF's research with our Executive Director, Ajay K. Mehrotra.
- Videos
ABF Access to Justice Program Video
Watch to learn more about the ABF/JPB Foundation Access to Justice Scholars Program.