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Home > News > American Bar Foundation Names Bryant Garth as Interim Executive Director Ahead of Upcoming Search

American Bar Foundation Names Bryant Garth as Interim Executive Director Ahead of Upcoming Search

July 25, 2025

Bryant Garth, Interim Executive Director

The American Bar Foundation (ABF) has announced the reappointment of ABF Affiliated Research Professor and University of California-Irvine School of Law Distinguished Professor Emeritus Bryant Garth as Interim Executive Director, effective September 2, 2025. Garth steps into the role as Mark C. Suchman transitions to focus full time on his research and teaching, continuing as a Research Professor at the ABF and a Professor of Sociology at Purdue University. This marks Garth’s second term as ABF Interim Executive Director, a role he also held during a previous leadership transition from 2022 to 2023. 

Garth brings to the interim role a deep familiarity with the ABF’s mission and operations, along with decades of leadership experience both in legal academia and at the ABF. He was the ABF’s Executive Director from 1990 to 2004, a period marked by significant expansion in empirical legal scholarship and the launch of major initiatives, including the landmark After the JD project. He also serves as Codirector of the Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession at University of California-Irvine and recently served as Interim Dean of University of California-Irvine School of Law during the 2021–22 academic year. Previously, Garth also served as Dean of Indiana University School of Law–Bloomington (1986–1990) and as Dean of Southwestern Law School (2005–2014). 

A graduate of Stanford Law School (JD 1975) and the European University Institute in Florence (PhD 1979), Garth focuses on the legal profession, the sociology of law, and globalization. Over the years, he has authored or coauthored numerous books, including Dealing in Virtue (1996), The Internationalization of Palace Wars (2002), Asian Legal Revivals (2010), Law as Reproduction and Revolution (2021), The Globalization of Legal Education (2022), and, most recently, The Making of Lawyers’ Careers (2023). His work has earned numerous accolades, including two Herbert Jacob Book Prizes and the Harry J. Kalven Jr. Prize from the Law and Society Association. 

Garth said his role starting in September will be to ensure the ABF maintains momentum: “Serving the ABF in this interim role is an honor. My focus will be on ensuring a strong handoff to the next Executive Director. What sets the ABF apart is its extraordinary interdisciplinary community and their integrity and passion for the work they do. I’m excited to help carry that work forward and support the next chapter.” 

“We are elated to welcome Bryant Garth back to the ABF in this interim capacity,” said Sandra J. Chan, President of the ABF’s Board of Directors. “He has a deep understanding of our Fellows, supporters, and the broader legal and scholarly communities we serve, and the Board has full confidence that the ABF will continue to thrive and provide the quality of research that has been its trademark for more than seventy years.”  

A search for the ABF’s next Executive Director will be led by Lauren Robel, Secretary of the ABF Board of Directors, former Dean of Indiana University Maurer School of Law, and former Provost and Vice President of Indiana University Bloomington. In the meantime, Chief Operating Officer Ann Pikus will serve as Interim Deputy Director, overseeing the ABF’s day-to-day administration and operations. 

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About the American Bar Foundation 

The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is the world’s leading research institute for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law. The ABF seeks to expand knowledge and advance justice through innovative, interdisciplinary, and rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes, and legal institutions. To further this mission the ABF will produce timely, cutting-edge research of the highest quality to inform and guide the legal profession, the academy, and society in the United States and internationally. The ABF’s primary funding is provided by the American Bar Endowment and the Fellows of The American Bar Foundation.

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