Our Purpose
The Law Firms Working Group is a research network of scholars that seeks to advance our knowledge and understanding of law firms, and private practice generally, through systematic and collaborative empirical research. Although the Working Group receives financial and institutional support from the American Bar Foundation (ABF) and the Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington, Members are drawn from several disciplines—including law, economics, sociology, business, political science, and psychology—and a wide array of universities and research organizations. In addition to the research activities of its Members, the Law Firms Working Group collects and compiles links and resource guides for those interested in detailed, comprehensive, and reliable information on the legal profession.
Our Projects
In 2006, the Working Group established a special licensing relationship with ALM Media, which is an integrated media company that collects and publishes comprehensive information on the lawyers and law firms. The ALM data set includes cross–sectional and longitudinal information on law firm structure, financial performance, lawyer demographics, branch office size and location, lawyer mobility, associate satisfaction, relative law firm prestige derived from lawyer surveys, practice group prominence, and other facets of modern law firm practice.
Members of the Law Firm Working Group are currently working on a series of research projects that leverage this unique data resource.