New Legal Realism Project Scholarship I. CONFERENCES: In June 2004, the first New Legal Realism Conference was held in Madison, Wisconsin. It was co-sponsored by the American Bar Foundation and the UW Institute for Legal Studies. Its goal was to develop a rigorous interdisciplinary framework for bringing law and social science together. Scholars at the conference discussed history and method, and then focused on cutting-edge examples of interdisciplinary research. The conference concluded with a discussion of possible reforms to legal education in light of new legal realist models.
One series of subsequent NLR conferences explored empirical legal perspectives on women, work, and family. This conference series was jointly sponsored by the University of Wisconsin and Emory University School of Law's Feminism and Legal Theory Project. Other conferences have examined law and poverty, and have established new frameworks for law to “work from the world up.”Legal scholars from across the spectrum of U.S. law schools are joining top-notch empirical researchers in ongoing NLR discussions designed to provide the world of law with the best available social science knowledge.*See Events page for details* 2005-2007NLR CONFERENCE SERIES: Legal and Social Science Perspectives on Women, Work, and Family (June 24-25, 2005 [Emory], Oct. 5-6, 2007 [Wisconsin]) 2005 -- STUDENT-ORGANIZED NLR Conference: Law, Poverty, and Land 2008 -- FACULTY CONFERENCE: Working From the World Up
II. PRESENTATIONS at scholarly meetings: The first academic panel centered on New Legal Realism was held at the 1997 Law & Society Association Meetings in St. Louis, Missouri. Entitled "Is It Time for a New Legal Realism," it brought together law professors and social scientists to discuss possible new forms of collaboration. Since that time NLR has been part of featured panels at the American Association of Law Schools, and has also been the subject of numerous Law & Society Association (LSA) panels.
In 2007, a group of NLR scholars started a Collaborative Research Network (CRN 28) as part of a scholarly networking program sponsored by the LSA. This CRN debuted at the Berlin meetings, which brought together an unprecedented number of international scholarly organizations focused on the social science study of law. CRN panels always include one or more "Methods Showcases" which combine didactic introductions of empirical methodologies for novices with consideration of advanced methodological and ethical issues for more experienced researchers.
III. SPECIAL ISSUES OF SCHOLARLY JOURNALS: The first NLR Conference resulted in a unique collaborative effort between a peer-reviewed social science journal and a law review, which jointly published the conference papers.
IV. GUEST BLOG : In June, 2006, three scholars associated with NLR were guest hosts for a week-long blog forum on the Empirical Legal Studies Blog that focused on "New Legal Realism." The hosts were Stewart Macaulay [Wisconsin], Elizabeth Mertz [ABF, Wisconsin], and Robert Nelson [ABF Director, Northwestern]. Read blog forum
V. INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS AND PAPERS: The list of individual works associated with NLR is growing rapidly. The NLR Project has begun a Working Papers series to capture some of this scholarship.
