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Leading Sociologist Laura Beth Nielsen to Steer ABF into Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Year
July 22, 2026
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) has named Laura Beth Nielsen as its eleventh Executive Director, succeeding Interim Executive Director and ABF Affiliated Research Professor Bryant Garth. She will assume the role September 1 and will be the first woman to lead the organization as it approaches its milestone seventy-fifth anniversary. Nielsen has been a Research… Read More
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The ABF Welcomes New Fellows Officers for 2026–27
September 14, 2026
The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation (ABF) have announced new Fellows Officers for the 2026–27 fiscal year. The Fellows are an honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and…
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The ABF Welcomes Michael H. Byowitz as President of the Board of Directors
September 14, 2026
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) welcomes Michael H. Byowitz as the new president of the ABF’s Board of Directors. His two-year term began September 1, 2026, following his service as…
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The ABF Welcomes Shaun Ossei-Owusu as the 2026–27 William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law
September 14, 2026
Shaun Ossei-Owusu has been named the William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law for the 2026–27 academic year. Ossei-Owusu is a Presidential Professor of Law at the…
Featured Event
September 16, 2026
Sociology and Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Learning Interpretive Terrains: Legal Aid Workers and their Strategies to Mitigate Punishment
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
Upcoming Events
September
16
Sociology and Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Learning Interpretive Terrains: Legal Aid Workers and their Strategies to Mitigate Punishment
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
September
23
Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Racial Justice as Transitional Justice: Human Rights and Public Support for Police Reform in the United States
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
September
30
Daniela Juarez, Alisher Juzgenbayev, and Ana Vasilj
Welcome 2026-28 ABF Doctoral Fellows
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
October
7
Sociology, Northwestern University
More information coming soon!
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
October
14
Political Science, ABF and Northwestern University
More information coming soon!
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
View Past Events
September
9
Law, American Bar Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison
Arc of Scholarship Talk: Directions, Inspirations, Obstacles, and Impasses
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
May
13
Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Markets for Black Pain: Law and Marginalization as a Commodity
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
May
7
Registration Now Open!
In-Person