American Bar Foundation
Research Advancing Justice
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is among the world’s leading research institutes for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law, legal processes, and legal institutions. For more than seventy years, the ABF has produced independent, nonpartisan research that people and institutions use to shape laws, inform policy, and influence society at large.
The ABF also fosters a robust intellectual community. ABF research is conducted by a distinguished resident faculty and more than fifty affiliated scholars from across the US and the world. Our fellowship programs cultivate the next generation of scholars. Law and Social Inquiry, the ABF’s quarterly journal, promotes conversation around pressing issues across disciplines.
The annual grants provided by the ABE play a vital role in funding the ABF's impactful research. These grants support projects, including, among many others:
- After the JD: Offers an unprecedented account of the last two decades of the legal profession in the US through surveys and interviews that track the careers and pathways of a nationally representative cohort of lawyers during the first twenty years of their careers.
- The Legal Transformation of Medicine: Highlights the challenges—and public health implications—of the increasing implementation of standardized legal frameworks in varied healthcare settings by studying clinics across diverse national contexts.
- Our Court: A New History of the Supreme Court: Reveals how the Supreme Court's role in American political and cultural life has evolved over time, highlighting inflection points and offering insights into the Supreme Court's current legitimacy challenges and its broader impact on democracy.
- The Least of These: Explores legacies of Black emancipation through a trenchant examination of how Black communities across the US, UK, Nigeria, and Cameroon have engaged in "freedom-making" amid laws and policies shaped by fears of Black violence, highlight the enduring impact of systemic inequities and contributing to contemporary debates on racial equity and justice.
- Alternative Legal Professionals: Examines how the legal profession might address the growing access to justice crisis and enhance accessibility for underserved populations by utilizing nonlawyer legal professionals, licensed to practice certain aspects of law.
“We are deeply appreciative of the American Bar Endowment’s unwavering support and partnership with the ABF. As our primary benefactor for more than seventy years, their annual grant is essential in maintaining the strength of our research and the innovation and reach of our programming.”