Research
Exploring where law, society and culture meet.
For over 70 years, we’ve conducted rigorous, groundbreaking research used worldwide to help ensure that the law embodies principles like dignity, fairness and justice.
									Learning and Practicing Law
Advancing research on legal education and practice, the ABF investigates how the law is practiced both in legal and non-legal settings, including a focus on legal careers and the evolving paths of legal professionals.
													Protecting Rights and Accessing Justice
Innovative research through the ABF examines the roles that laws have around the world, with a special focus on protecting vital rights and the ways that people from different communities can access the justice system.
													Making and Implementing Law
The ABF analyzes the diverse ways laws are created and practiced in the U.S. and around the world, not just by legal professionals, but also by those who enforce the law and put it into action.
													Recent Research Publications
Displaying 12 Results Out of 291
 
				- Books
Court on Trial: A Data-Driven Account of the Supreme Court of India
						July 2023					
													
							William H. J. Hubbard, Aparna Chandra and Sital Kalantry						
					 
				- Articles
Assessing the Risks of Risk Assessments: Institutional Tensions and Data Driven Judicial Decision-Making in U.S. Pretrial Hearings
						October 2024					
													
							Sino Esthappan						
					 
				- Articles
The Policing Machine: Enforcement, Endorsements, and the Illusion Of Public Input
						June 2025					
													
							Sino Esthappan						
					 
				- Articles
Justice Work as Democracy Work: Reimagining Access to Justice as Democratization
						July 2025					
													
							Matthew Burnett, Rebecca L. Sandefur, , Rebecca L. Sandefur and Matthew Burnett						
					 
				- Articles
Crypto Fever: Law, Regulation, and the Promise of Trustless Trust
						June 2025					
													
							Susan P. Shapiro						
					 
				- Chapters
The Rule of Law is Fragile: The Importance of Legitimacy and Access
						March 2025					
													
							Stephen Daniels and Joanne Martin						
					 
				- Books
Governing the Global Clinic: HIV and the Legal Transformation of Medicine
							Carol A. Heimer						
					 
				- Videos
Shaping the Future of Sociolegal Research: ABF Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships
						2025					
													
							Mark C. Suchman, Anna Reosti, Ewurama Okai and Sino Esthappan						
					 
				- Reports
People-Centered Access to Justice Research: A Global Perspective
						2023					
													
							Matthew Burnett, Rebecca L. Sandefur, Julia Dos Santos Drummond, , , , , Rebecca L. Sandefur and Matthew Burnett						
					 
				- Articles
A People-Centered Approach to Designing and Evaluating Community Justice Worker Programs in the United States
						2024					
													
							Matthew Burnett and Rebecca L. Sandefur						
					 
				- Articles
“Mom-and-Pop” Landlords and Regulatory Backlash: A Seattle Case Study
						November 2024					
													
							Anna Reosti, Chris Hess, Courtney Allen and Kyle Crowder						
					 
				- Articles
Rental Housing and the Continuum of Carcerality
						September 2024					
													
							Anna Reosti, Rahim Kurwa and Robin Bartram						
					