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Rebecca Sandefur

Rebecca Sandefur headshot

Faculty Fellow

Joint appointment

sandefur@illinois.edu

Education

Ph.D., Sociology University of Chicago

Curriculum vitae

Bio

In 2010, Rebecca L. Sandefur joined the American Bar Foundation to found and lead a new access to justice research initiative. She continues to head up this initiative as Faculty Fellow at the…

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Research focus

Inequality, poverty and social stratification; access to justice; occupations and professions; work, mobility and labor markets. Current research examines how ordinary people think about and respond to civil justice problems and the institutions that exist to assist people with those problems in the US and other societies; how experience with civil justice problems affects social class inequality; the impact of counsel on case outcomes; the careers of lawyers who work for ordinary people, either as public servants, public interest lawyers or attorneys who provide legal services directly to individuals.


Projects

Accessing Justice in Contemporary America: The Community Needs and Services Study
Latest finding: Apr 3, 2012, with Laura Beth Nielsen, Pascoe Pleasence
This community-sited, multi-method study investigates the American public’s experiences with problems that fall within the purview of the civil justice system.
Pursuing Law’s Promise: Researching Access to Justice in 21st Century America
Latest finding: Apr 3, 2012, with Robert L. Nelson, Laura Beth Nielsen, Aaron C. Smyth
Through a series of innovative empirical research projects, Pursuing Law’s Promise investigates Americans’ experiences with their civil justice problems and the institutions of remedy…

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Publications

“ ‘Golden Age’, Quiescence, and Revival: How the Sociology of Professions Became the Study of Knowledge-Based Work”
Work and Occupations Journal
Access Across America: 1st Report of the Civil Justice Infrastructure Mapping Project
American Bar Foundation
“Money Isn’t Everything: Understanding Moderate Income Households’ Use of Lawyers’ Services”
University of Toronto Press

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Presentations

Understanding Access to Justice in 21st Century America
Oct 2012
Thrifty Research: Cheap(er) Ways to Move Access to Justice Understanding Forward in Tight Fiscal Times
Sep 2012
“Learning from the Big Picture,” Empirical Research on Delivery of Legal Services: What Can We Learn?
May 2012

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Professional Service & Recognition

Collaborator, Cost of Justice Research Alliance, Canadian Forum on Civil Justice  

Member, Right to Counsel Committee, California Commission on Access to Justice

Member, Research Advisory Board of the Civil Right to Counsel Leadership and Support Initiative