Next Wed., 10/1, ABF Speaker Series will be led by ABF/LSA Doctoral Fellow in Law & Inequality Christopher Robertson, and ABF/AccessLex Institute Doctoral Fellow in Legal & Higher Education Jane Y. Jeong. 🔗: www.americanbarfoundation.org/event/speake...

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, ABF Research Prof. and @uchicagolaw.bsky.social's @tomginsburg.bsky.social urges universities to do more than stay neutral — they must actively promote First Amendment principles and ideological diversity. Read more from: @usatoday.com 🔗:

Next Wed., 9/24, ABF Speaker Series will be led by @gabrielwinant.bsky.social, Associate Professor of History at the University of Chicago. Winant will discuss the "brittleness of the institutions of the welfare state constructed during the New Deal." 🔗: www.americanbarfoundation.org/event/speake...

Constitution Day! Join the Illinois Conference of the American Association of University Professors, @projectcensored.bsky.social, and the Park Center for Independent Media for a free webinar on academic freedom and the higher ed. crisis — Today from 3-4pm CT. 🔗: www.facebook.com/events/19165...

Tomorrow, 9/16, our ABF Speaker Series is led by Prof. of Sociology and Co-Dir. of the Appalachian Justice Research Center @profmichellebrown.bsky.social. Brown will discuss tribal sovereignty amidst carceral expansion and raises key questions about sovereignty granted by the settler state. 🔗:

ABF Faculty Fellow Rebecca Sandefur and Director of Research and Programs Matthew Burnett discuss resolutions made by the Conference of Chief Justices, Conference of State Court Administrators, and ABA––for studying and implementing community justice worker programs. www.law360.com/articles/238...

This Wed., 9/16, the ABF Speaker Series returns with Zhandarka Kurti, Assistant Prof. of Criminal Justice and Criminology at @loyolachicago.bsky.social and Jarrod Shanahan, Associate Prof. of Criminal Justice at Governors State University. 🔗 www.americanbarfoundation.org/event/speake...

The ABF welcomes seven Visiting Scholars to our 2025–26 cohort: Portia Jin Xiong, Rashmee Singh, William Darwall, Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Joachim Savelsberg, Kasey Henricks, and Katheryn Birks Harvey. www.americanbarfoundation.org/the-abf-anno...

The ABF welcomes @swethaa.bsky.social as the 2025–26 William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law. Ballakrishnen previously served as an AccessLex Visiting Scholar on Legal Education at the ABF, from 2017 to 2018. Learn more: www.americanbarfoundation.org/the-abf-welc...

“Law, Anthropology, and Their Languages,” a new article by ABF Research Prof. Elizabeth Mertz and Faculty Fellow Justin Richland, uses linguistic anthropology and outsider scholarship to explore the discourses of law and anthropology. Read more: www.americanbarfoundation.org/wp-content/u...

Check out this week’s episode of The Lawyerist Podcast, in which host Zack Glaser speaks with ABF Faculty Fellow Rebecca L. Sandefur and Dir. of Research and Programs Matthew Burnett about their research on community justice workers. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7siI...

The ABF announces the 2025-26 doctoral and postdoctoral fellows. The ABF’s incoming doc fellows are Anna Fox, Jane Y. Jeong, Christopher E. Robertson, and Kris Rosentel. The ABF’s postdoc fellows are Ellie Frazier and Grigory Gorbun. Learn more: www.americanbarfoundation.org/the-american...

Join the ABF's Access to Justice Research Initiative and FGV Law School São Paulo: Monday, August 25, 7:20 AM–3:30 PM CT for "Envisioning a People-Centered Justice Research and Data Agenda for Latin America"— a one-day conference available via livestream. ☑️ RSVP for livestream: lnkd.in/dyWTZAYR

Thank you to all who joined us in Toronto! The Fellows of the ABF hosted several memorable events during the @americanbar.org's #ABAAnnual — from the CLE Program: "Safeguarding Democracy" to the Fellows Business Breakfast. We look forward to next year's #ABAMidyear in San Antonio Texas!

“We want our students to be prepared to succeed professionally in the intersecting space of AI and the law, which is only going to keep growing,” says ABF Research Prof. and chair of @uchicagolaw.bsky.social's AI Committee, @williamhjhubbard.bsky.social—on the school's new AI Lab coming this fall.

“Looking across backsliding democracies, you see a distinctive pattern in which law is deployed as an instrument to unravel democratic institutions.” At the Fellows CLE at #ABAAnnual, ABF Affil. Scholar Aziz Huq opens a talk on evolving tactics and efforts to defend rule of law. @americanbar.org

Welcome, ABF Fellows, to #ABAAnnual in Toronto! Visit Fellows registration for ribbons and details on the weekend line-up, from a CLE w/ ABF Affil. Scholar Aziz Huq and @daviddriesen.bsky.social to an Oscar-worthy opening reception. 🎬 @americanbar.org www.americanbarfoundation.org/event/fellow...

"This kind of agreement ends the Northwestern that so many people in Chicago land are so proud of." ABF Research Professor @lbthatsme.bsky.social in a recent @abc7chicago.bsky.social article on a potential deal with the Trump Administration. Read more: abc7chicago.com/post/northwe...

A new article by ABF Director of Research and Programs Matthew Burnett and Faculty Fellow Rebecca L. Sandefur explores—"the role of access to justice in building and enlivening democracy through a critical mechanism to demonopolize and democratize the law: justice workers." Learn more:

“It really is a peculiar feature that these two federal judges are striking down the will of the people as well as the will of the California legislature,” says ABF Affiliated Research Prof. John Donohue — @cbsnews.com discussing California’s recently struck ammo background check law. Read more:

The American Bar Foundation 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. Learn more:

"Like a delicate hand-blown sculpture, “rule of law” is valued for its artistry, but we now know it requires a high level of care and protection if we want it to survive." Former ABF Board Member Paula Boggs writes in a new @bloomberglaw.com article. Read more: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

"We’ve lost a lion for justice.” The American Bar Foundation is deeply saddened to share news of the passing of William H. “Bill” Neukom, esteemed Philanthropist Fellow, former ABF Board Member, and tireless advocate for the rule of law. www.americanbarfoundation.org/william-h-ne...

"Our democratic survival requires that the presidency be brought back under the system of checks and balances that the Founders envisaged. They would ask no less of us." ABF Research Prof. @tomginsburg.bsky.social examines the dangers of “Hyper-Presidency” in a new piece for Persuasion. Read more:

The ABF thanks Mark Suchman for nearly two years of dedicated service and contributions to the organization’s mission. As of July 11, Suchman stepped down from the role of Executive Director and will continue with the ABF as a Research Professor, jointly appointed at @purdueuniversity.bsky.social.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Bill Paul, who served w/ distinction as Chair of the Fellows and on our Board of Directors. A former ABA President, Paul left an indelible mark on the ABF through his belief in research to strengthen the legal profession. www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...

Former ABF Visiting Scholar @hilakeren.bsky.social argues that the Supreme Court’s US v. Skrmetti ruling leaves "key questions about due process and the First Amendment unanswered." Read more: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Are judges and juries next to be automated? ABF Research Professor Shari Diamond is featured in a new ABA Journal article exploring the future of AI in the courtroom. Should AI play a role in legal decision-making? Read more: www.abajournal.com/web/article/...

ABF Research Professor Jacob Goldin is featured in the @washingtonpost.com, highlighting findings from his study, Health Insurance and Mortality: Experimental Evidence from Taxpayer Outreach. 📝Study: law.stanford.edu/wp-content/u... 📰Washington Post:

Thirty-one men at Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, positioned their bodies in the shape of the letters “SOS." "The SOS is not an isolated event but a symptom of a greater problem." New from @johnmajoreason.bsky.social the William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law:

It's publication day for Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing, available in paper & free .epub! It traces a century of struggle over Los Angeles' periphery, culminating in the use of policing to expel and repress Black tenants. Here's a look at its chapters:

📚 ABF Affiliated Scholar @migrantherstory.bsky.social is featured in the @newyorker.com on the Trump administration’s push to restrict birthright citizenship—placing it in historical context with 19th-century Chinese American experiences. Read more: www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

In Discounting Life, ABF Research Prof. Jothie Rajah takes readers through the unsettling normalization of extrajudicial killings. As a critical reflection on contemporary justice, this is essential reading. Get 20% off with code RAJAH2025. @cambup-law.cambridge.org www.cambridge.org/9781009074650

📖 The American Bar Foundation has chosen five outstanding undergraduate students from across the nation to take part in the 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program. Read more about the SURF Program: www.americanbarfoundation.org/the-abf-welc...

"Rebecca Sandefur’s mission is to provide help to tens of millions of Americans in solving their legal problems" writes Lincoln Caplan in a new @theamscho.bsky.social article. Read more about ABF Research Prof. Rebecca Sandefur and her work: theamericanscholar.org/the-justice-...

ABF Research Prof. Carol Heimer discusses her new book Governing the Global Clinic in a new @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview. Her research draws on years of research in HIV clinics in the United States, Thailand, South Africa, and Uganda. 🎧Listen here: megaphone.link/NBNK7961059866

TIME's Impact Dinner, "The Road to Justice," held on May 20th in Washington, D.C., featured ABF Affiliated Research Professor Dylan Penningroth—who spoke on the power of family stories and the "urgency of historical truth." Learn more about the event: time.com/7286463/time...

Congrats to Valerie P. Hans (@jurygirl.bsky.social) of @cornelllaw.bsky.social for co-winning LSA’s 2025 Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize! View all winners here: bit.ly/LSAAwards2025

Congrats to Robert L. Nelson of Northwestern University and @abfresearch.bsky.social for co-winning LSA’s 2025 Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize! View all winners here: bit.ly/LSAAwards2025

What happens when we study law not as doctrine but as lived experience? At "New Legal Realism at 20" at #LSAChicago2025, ABF alum Jeffrey Omari chaired a lively discussion on how NLR is made for moments like this and explored what we learn by comparing how societies confront similar populist crises.

Congratulations to Robert L. Nelson (MacCrate Research Chair in the Legal Profession) & @jurygirl.bsky.social (Wheeler Committee Chair), corecipients of @lawandsociety.bsky.social's 2025 Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize! Honored for a body of work advancing law & society research. 🎉 #LSAChicago2025

Looking forward to raising a glass w/ the LSI community, @abfresearch.bsky.social, and @thelssse.bsky.social! Join us for a rare, in-person symposium w/ no word limits, unlimited coauthors, and refreshments at the 2025 @lawandsociety.bsky.social Annual Mtg. #LSAChicago2025 @cambup-law.cambridge.org

Come one, come all as ABF and @thelssse.bsky.social convene to celebrate our communities and the Golden Anniversary of @lsijournal.bsky.social. RSVP to join us at the @chiarchitecture.bsky.social from 7 to 9 PM on Fri., 5/23: forms.office.com/r/pvq4axwdRe #LSAChicago2025 @lawandsociety.bsky.social

Can't wait for #LSAChicago2025? Join ABF and Northwestern Pritzker Law on Wed., 5/21 for a free webinar, Juries in the Americas: Variation and Change, examining how jury systems across the Americas have taken shape and changed over time. #lawandsociety www.americanbarfoundation.org/juries-in-th...

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm Hendrik Hartog will discuss his book Nobody's Boy and His Pals: The Story of Jack Robbins and the Boys' Brotherhood Republic. He will be joined in conversation by Farah Peterson at @seminarycoopbooks.bsky.social. RSVP Here: www.semcoop.com/event/hendri...

🚨New from @rollingstone.com, by @althea.bsky.social: ABF Research Prof. Christopher W. Schmidt breaks down the Supreme Court’s decision to hear oral arguments over the Trump Admin's order to end birthright citizenship. Read more and find out what it means for the 14th Amendment: ⬇️

📢 Join us at the @lawandsociety.bsky.social Annual Meeting in Chicago, May 22–25! With over 50 current and former ABF Scholars presenting, this year’s theme—Politics of the Body at the Crossroads—will explore urgent legal & social issues from LGBT equality to global health, policing, and more.

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for the launch of Governing the Global Clinic: HIV and the Legal Transformation of Medicine by ABF Research Prof. Carol Heimer! 📘👏 @uchicagopress.bsky.social For upcoming events visit our website: 🔗 www.americanbarfoundation.org/news-events/

Joining us this Wed., 5/7, for ABF Speaker Series is @law.wisc.edu prof. Alexandra Huneeus. Prof. Huneeus will dive into Latin America's groundbreaking legal arguments for non-human rights & rights of nature. 🌎⚖️ 📌 Date: 5/7 🔗 www.americanbarfoundation.org/event/speake...

“Courts were not designed for people,” ABF Faculty Fellow Rebecca Sandefur says in a @nytimes.com magazine article on Americans' access to legal aid. "The processes that you have to navigate to use them were implemented for a very narrow part of the population that invented them." Read more👇: