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ABF in Review: Producing Research That Advances Justice

Quarterly Newsletter

Fall 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.

Learn more �

Visit our website at:

www.americanbarfoundation.org

In This Issue

Nelson Resigns

SRDF Fellowship Applications Open

Researcher Profile: John Hagan

Leadership Spotlight: David Collins

The Fellows & ABF Initiatives and Partners

Robert Nelson Stepping Down as Director of American Bar Foundation; Returning to Faculty Position

Robert L. Nelson has decided to step down as Director, effective September 1, 2015, to return full time to research at the ABF and teaching at Northwestern University. Nelson has served as Director since September 2004, a decade of great accomplishments at the Foundation. While Director, he continued an active research agenda, leading the ABF's pathbreaking research on lawyer careers, the After the JD Project, which has just released its Third Wave of results.

A national search is underway for the position of Director.

Read more �

ABF News


After the JD Wave III Results A project of ABF Director Robert L. Nelson and co-authors, After the JD III: Third Results from a National Study of Legal Careers provides an overview of the findings from wave three of data collection with analysis and comparisons of results from the prior two waves of the study. Click here for information and to purchase the report �	Constitute New constitutions are written every year. The people who write these vital documents need to read and analyze texts from other governing bodies. Co-created by ABF Research Professor Tom Ginsburg, Constitute offers access to the world's constitutions in a single database so that users can systematically compare them across a broad set of topics - using a modern, clean interface. www.constituteproject.org �	We Want What's Ours ABF Faculty Fellow Bernadette Atuahene's new book features interviews with over one hundred and fifty South Africans who participated in the nation's land restitution program. It provides a snapshot of South Africa's successes and failures in achieving "dignity restoration," a fusion of reparations with restorative justice. www.wewantwhatsours.com �

2015 Montgomery Summer Research Diversity Fellowship Open for Applications

The 2014 Fellows, left to right: Pedro Alfonso, Jose Aguayo, Kaitlyn Williams, and Elijah Porter

Students can now apply for the American Bar Foundation's annual program of summer research fellowships for diverse undergraduates who are interested in pursuing graduate study in law and the social sciences. Applications are open through February 15, 2015.

For more information, eligibility requirements, and to access the online application, visit our website.

Questions? Contact Program Manager Kathryn Harris at: kharris@abfn.org or (312) 988-6515.

Researcher Profile: John Hagan

Click here to view this short video in which Prof. Hagan discusses his research on how parental incarceration affects a child's level of educational attainment.

John Hagan is an ABF Research Professor and John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern University. In August 2013, Professor Hagan and the National Science Foundation gathered national experts at the White House to shine light on collateral costs of parental incarceration to children. View multimedia highlights from this important conference here.

Spotlight on ABF President David Collins

David Collins will serve as President of the American Bar Foundation through August 2016. He has practiced law both as in-house counsel for General Motors and its subsidiaries and then Of Counsel at the national law firm of Dykema Gossett. In addition to his service to the ABF, Collins has served the American Bar Association in numerous roles and has published several articles on corporate compliance and ethics.

Crain's Detroit recently interviewed President Collins about his service to the American Bar Foundation. Click here to read the interview.