New Legal Realism: Empirical Law and Society

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Seeking to develop a rigorous, genuinely interdisciplinary approach to the empirical study of law.

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Stewart Macaulay leads a group of New Legal Realists who post on everything from law to the latest in jazz. Visit our blog to refresh your understanding of Jerome Frank, to hear why law needs anthropology’s kind of empiricism, to get an update on Duke Ellington, and more...

Current Topic: Legal Education
From law on the books to law in action From law on the books to law in action

News and Events

**New Announcements**
Law and Society Annual Meeting in May-June 2013

The next Law and Society Annual Meeting is being held in Boston, MA from May 30- June 2, 2013. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Power, Privilege, and the Pursuit of Justice: Legal Challenges in Precarious Time.” The conference attempts to examine the challenges that will define law and society over the next few years. The talks and discussion panels planned for the meeting feature interdisciplinary approaches to studying law. LSA Collaborative Research Network #28: Realist and Empirical Methods will feature several panels and **its first organizational meeting, open to all interested scholars**. More information

New Legal Realism Now on Facebook and Twitter

Sarah Morando Lakhani (Law and Social Science Fellow at the American Bar Foundation and up and coming sociolegal scholar) has spearheaded the effort to launch social media accounts for New Legal Realism. The latest news and stories will be featured on these sites. To get up to date news, "Follow" us on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook:

About NLR

The New Legal Realism Project (NLR) promotes rigorous and genuinely interdisciplinary scholarship on law in action, building from the law-and-society tradition. Law professors and lawyers often turn to social science research for help in resolving legal problems, but they usually do so without much social science training or expertise. On the other hand, social scientists who study legal issues can fail to appreciate the distinctive requirements of law and policy, resulting in failed attempts to apply social science to "real world" problems. NLR focuses on developing better, more sophisticated translations between law and social science. This is especially important as law increasingly turns to social science for guidance in dealing with crucial legal and policy issues. Sloppy or inaccurate interdisciplinary translation on these issues can have serious social effects.

NLR FAQ: How do I join NLR?

Answer: Like the "old" legal realism, the New Legal Realism is open to all who wish to participate. Our conversations take place in journals and books and working papers, at conferences and colloquia freely organized by interested scholars. We welcome news on New Legal Realism projects. Email us at newlegalrealism@gmail.com.

Reading Corner Updates

*NEW*
Featured Topic: NLR and Comparative Institutional Analysis

  Read:
   --Paper by Gregory Shaffer (Comparative      Institutional Analysis and a New Legal      Realism)
   --List of readings

  Watch:
   --Wisconsin Law Review Symposium : 30      Years of Comparative Institutional      Analysis- A Celebration of Neil Komesar


NLR WORKING PAPERS:
Series 1     Series 2

Resources and Links