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ABF in Review: Producing Research That Advances Justice
 
Quarterly Newsletter
Summer 2014

The American Bar Foundation's mission is to serve the legal profession, the public, and the academy through empirical research, publications, and programs that advance justice and the understanding of law and its impact on society.


2014 Conference of the Research Group on Legal Diversity 
ABF leaders and scholars, from left to right: Robert Nelson, Jerry Kang, Walter Sutton, William Hubbard, Joan Williams, Jimmy Goodman, Kay Hodge, David Houghton, Hon. Bernice Donald, David Wilkins, Ronit Dinovitzer, and David Collins
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In This Issue
Joan C. Williams presenting at the 2014 Conference

Building on the American Bar Foundation's commitment to diversity and our position as the leading research institute for the empirical study of law, the Research Group on Legal Diversity was established in 2011 to examine trends in diversity in the legal profession and other institutions of justice, as well as the impact of diversity on legal processes and institutions.  

 

The 2014 Conference of the Research Group on Legal Diversity took place on May 8 & 9, 2014. Speakers included then ABA President-Elect William Hubbard, Allstate Corporate Counsel Vanita Banks, Harvard Professor David B. Wilkins, and several ABF Research Professors and Fellows. This third annual conference was organized around the theme of "bias and law." The conference brought legal practitioners concerned with diversity together with scholars conducting research on diversity in law. 


 

Diversity expert Professor Joan C. Williams' keynote address focused on patterns of bias against women in the workplace. View a highlight of her address below, in which she discusses gender and salary negotiation:

 

Joan C. Williams on Gender and Salary Negotiation - Excerpt   
ABF News
Last Plane Out of Saigon

Past ABF President Richard Pena and Research Professor John Hagan have jointly authored Last Plane Out of Saigon, a book that combines a harrowing first-hand account of final months of Vietnam War with incisive political and historical perspective. The book captures the personal journal of Richard Pena, a draftee working in the operating room of Vietnam's largest military hospital in the final year of the Vietnam War.

 

Buy the book at www.lastplaneoutofsaigon.com �

 

 
Law & Social Inquiry Authors Tackle Portrayal of Capital Punishment in Cinema

In the Summer 2014 issue of the ABF's quarterly journal, Law & Social Inquiry, Amherst College's Austin Sarat and co-authors examine the the death penalty in American film. Click to access the article, "Scenes of Execution: Spectatorship, Political Responsibility, and State Killing in American Film."

Sarat was interviewed in the online magazine Think Progress and also on National Public Radio.
2014 Summer Research Diversity Fellowship

This annual ABF fellowship is open to diverse college sophomores and juniors who are interested in pursuing careers in law and social science. Applications for summer 2015 will be available November 1.

This year's fellows were Pedro Alfonso (St. John's University), Jose Aguayo (University of California Los Angeles), Kaitlyn Williams (Stanford University), and Elijah Porter (Fort Valley State University), pictured above from left to right.

Read bios of the 2014 fellows �
Researcher Profile: Rebecca Sandefur

ABF Faculty Fellow Rebecca Sandefur's research focuses on legal services, specifically how ordinary people think about and respond to civil justice problems and the institutions that exist to assist people with those problems in the United States. Professor Sandefur has just released new, pathbreaking findings on access to justice: "Accessing Justice in The Contemporary USA: Findings From The Community Needs And Services Study."

 

The report is based on Sandefur's survey of the civil justice experiences of the public, conducted in a mid-sized Midwestern city. The findings provide a contemporary picture of Americans' experience with civil justice situations, few of which are taken to lawyers or resolved in courts.

 

Access the full report here �

Spotlight on ABF Leadership: Kay H. Hodge
Kay H. Hodge is a partner in the Boston, MA firm of Stoneman, Chandler & Miller LLP and is active in the leadership of the American Bar Foundation as a member of the Board of Directors and past chair of The Fellows. Hodge is a labor and employment attorney representing public and private sector management.

Hodge served as the Massachusetts State Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates. Her past service roles also include past member of the ABA Board of Governors, past chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, past chair of the ABA Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities, and past President of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the National Conference of Bar Presidents.

 

Read more about Ms. Hodge at her law firm website � 

The Fellows & ABF Initiatives and Partners
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The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation

The Fellows is an honorary organization of attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars who support the work of the ABF through annual contributions.




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Center on Law and Globalization

The Center on Law and Globalization was created to advance social scientific understanding of global law, global legal institutions and global legal behavior.
The American Bar Endowment

Key supporter of the American Bar Foundation
 
The American Bar Endowment provides quality insurance for ABA member attorneys while giving back to the good works of the legal profession.
 


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