Knowledge powers the pursuit of justice.
- News
April 3, 2024
American Bar Foundation
We conduct research that explores the intersection of
law and society—to expand knowledge and advance justice.
Our groundbreaking research is used to:
Spark conversations
about the world's
most pressing issues
most pressing issues
Shape law and policy
by informing lawmakers,
practitioners, and the judiciary
practitioners, and the judiciary
Influence societies
in the U.S. and
across the world
across the world
Featured Research
- Books
Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights
Penningroth reveals how African Americans have thought about, talked about, and used the law from the era of slavery to the 1970s.
Read More
In the News
- Access To Justice
- News
The ABF/JPB Access to Justice Scholars Program Chooses Five New Scholars for its 2024-25 Cohort
April 17, 2024
The American Bar Foundation’s (ABF) Access to Justice Research Initiative, founded by ABF Faculty Fellow and MacArthur Fellow Rebecca Sandefur, is proud to announce the 2024-25 cohort of ABF/JPB Foundation Access to Justice Scholars. Each… Read More
- News
The Making of Lawyers’ Careers: A Twenty-Year ABF Study Finds Systemic Inequality in the Legal Profession Still Exists
March 19, 2024
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) has long been recognized as the leading source of research on legal education and the profession. Among these projects is the first longitudinal study of legal careers… Read More
- News
Mark Suchman Appointed Professor of Sociology at Purdue University
February 29, 2024
Mark Suchman, ABF Research Professor and Executive Director, has joined the Purdue University faculty in the College of Liberal Arts as a Professor of Sociology. Suchman comes to Purdue from Brown University, where he led the Sociology Department’s Work, Organizations, and Economy Program and directed the Organizational… Read More
Featured Researcher
Carol A. Heimer
ABF Research Professor
Carol A. Heimer is a Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation and a Professor of Sociology Emerita at Northwestern University. In this feature, Heimer discusses findings from her forthcoming book, Governing the Global Clinic: HIV and the Legal Transformation of Medicine (University of Chicago Press), a comparative study of the “legalization” of American medicine and the broad impact on the role of law in medicine, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in HIV/AIDS clinics in the United States, Uganda, South Africa, and Thailand.
Featured Event
May 08, 2024
Translating Ideas into Action
Join the ABF at Wayne State University for an opportunity to critically examine how empirical research might provide answers to the access to civil justice crisis.
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Wayne State University)
Upcoming Events
More
Law, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
"Borders and Belonging"
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(ABF Offices, 750 N Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor Chicago, IL)
Translating Ideas into Action
Join the ABF at Wayne State University for an opportunity to critically examine how empirical research might provide answers to the access to civil justice crisis.
Hybrid: Virtual/In-Person
(McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Wayne State University)
- Podcasts
Episode 8: Season One Finale: When Law Meets Society
The season finale of Season 1 of Whose Law is it Anyway explores the impact of ABF's research with our Executive Director, Ajay K. Mehrotra.
- Videos
ABF Access to Justice Program Video
Watch to learn more about the ABF/JPB Foundation Access to Justice Scholars Program.