The ABF Receives $3.49 Million Grant from the American Bar Endowment

CHICAGO, Aug. 31, 2021 – The American Bar Endowment (ABE) has awarded an annual $3.49 million grant to the American Bar Foundation (ABF), which will support the ABF’s mission to expand knowledge and advance justice by understanding and improving law through interdisciplinary and empirical research. 

“We are exceedingly grateful to ABE for their longstanding support," said ABF Executive Director Ajay K. Mehrotra. "As the ABF’s primary funder, ABE is critical to continuing the momentum of our ongoing, rigorous research and innovative programs.” 

The ABF has received annual grants from ABE since its founding in 1952. Over nearly seventy years, ABE has awarded more than $150 million to the ABF. These unrestricted, annual grants are vital to enabling the ABF to continue its critically acclaimed work. 

“ABE is very pleased to award the ABF with this grant,” ABE President Carolyn B. Lamm commented. “The ABF continues to advance their primary mission to expand knowledge and advance justice, and this grant will support forward-looking interdisciplinary and empirical research.” 

In the past year alone, the ABF has championed several innovative projects and programs including Portrait Project 2.0: Asian Americans in the Legal Profession and the upcoming William C. Hubbard Law & Education Conference. These projects and programs are intended to support empirical and interdisciplinary scholarship on the most pressing issues facing the legal system in the United States and the world. 

Current ABF research examines access to civil justice, the legal tools for protecting public health, the factors behind the disappearing jury trial, the political and social impact of problematic policing, and perceived bias in the legal workplace.  

ABE is a not-for-profit corporate public charity that sponsors high-quality, affordable life and disability insurance for ABA members. ABE’s mission is to generate funds for the support of law-related research, educational, and public service projects through its insurance program and other programs that encourage charitable giving. Through ABE, ABA members can donate dividends to help fund grants that support law-related programs and projects of importance to the public and the profession such as the excellent research program of the ABF. 

About the American Bar Foundation 

The?American Bar Foundation (ABF) is among the world’s leading research institutes 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.