The Devil is in the Data
Are the facts in your favor? UCLA's Empirical Research Group focuses on the importance of rigorous empirical research in law.
UCLA Law has a long history of empirical legal research, with more than half of its faculty having published empirical research. The Empirical Research Group helps support that tradition. Building on a core group of empirical legal scholars, ERG promotes rigorous research by students, staff and faculty that crosses the boundaries between law, the social sciences and public policy.
Students interested in empirical legal research, have the opportunity to improve their research skills and gain valuable research experience while at UCLA Law, with individualized guidance, training and support. Whether students are interested in developing the skills and vocabulary to better with policy researchers and analysts when advocating for legislative and policy change, assessing the use of statistical evidence in the courtroom, or collecting and leveraging empirical evidence to better advocate for their client or improve their practice, the Empirical Research Group can help students develop an individualized plan that suits their interests and needs.
Who We Are
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Statisticians
Henry Kim
Senior Statistician, Empirical Research GroupJonathan Rodgers
Senior Statistician, Empirical Research GroupLucy Yang
Statistician, Empirical Research Group -
UCLA Law Faculty
Daniel J. Bussel
Professor of LawIngrid Eagly
Professor of Law
Faculty Co-Director, Criminal Justice ProgramJill R. Horwitz
David Sanders Professorship in Law and Medicine
Professor of Public Affairs (by courtesy)
Founding Faculty Director, Lowell Milken Center on Philanthropy and Nonprofits
Vice Dean for Faculty and Intellectual Life (2019-2021)Lynn M. LoPucki
Security Pacific Bank Distinguished Professor of Law EmeritusTimothy Malloy
Professor of Law
Faculty Director, UCLA Sustainable Technology and Policy Program
Frank G. Wells Endowed Chair in Environmental LawRichard H. Sander
Jesse Dukeminier Professorship in LawJoanna C. Schwartz
Professor of Law
Faculty Director, David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and PolicySherod Thaxton
Professor of Law
Professor of African American Studies (by courtesy)
Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)
Professor of Sociology (by courtesy)
For Students
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Opportunities
The Empirical Research Group supports student interest in empirical research in four primary ways:
- Offering Coursework: Faculty offer a variety of courses that provide the opportunity for students to develop the skills and knowledge to be able to conduct high level empirical legal research.
- Enabling Participation in UCLA Law Research Projects: At any given moment there are dozens of ongoing empirical legal research projects at UCLA, and UCLA students have the opportunity, often as a paid research assistant, to participate in these projects.
- Connecting Students to Outside Research Opportunities: ERG has strong connections with groups beyond the law school that engage in important legal and policy research, including with UCLA researchers beyond the school, researchers with the RAND Corporation, various NGOs and governmental organizations, and private firms.
- Mentoring Student-Initiated Research: Students who are interested in pursuing individual research projects can receive mentorship and guidance from ERG faculty and staff.
- Advising Students Interested in Research or Policy Jobs: ERG can advise students who are interested in pursuing research or policy careers after their JD.
Research
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Publications
Steven A. Bank. Dividends and Politics (with Brian Cheffins and Marc Goergen), 25 European Journal of Political Economy 208-224 (2009).
Samuel L. Bray. The Myth of the Mild Declaratory Judgment, 63 Duke Law Journal 1091 (2014).
Daniel J. Bussel. Opinions First--Argument Afterwards, 61 UCLA Law Review 1194 (2014).
Scott Cummings. Managing Pro Bono: Doing Well by Doing Better (with Deborah L. Rhode), 78 Fordham Law Review 2359 (2010).
Sharon Dolovich. Two Models of the Prison: Accidental Humanity and Hypermasculinity in the L.A. County Jail, 102 Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 965 (2012).
Sharon Dolovich. Strategic Segregation in the Modern Prison, 48 American Criminal Law Review 1 (2011).
Ingrid Eagly. Criminal Justice for Noncitizens: An Analysis of Variation in Local Enforcement, 88 NYU Law Review 1126 (2013).
Ingrid Eagly. Local Immigration Prosecution: A Study of Arizona Before SB 1070, 58 UCLA Law Review 1749 (2011).
Ingrid Eagly. Prosecuting Immigration, 104 Northwestern University Law Review 1281 (2010).
Carole Goldberg. A Study of the Administration of Justice in Indian Country (with Duane Champagne), Report to the National Institute of Justice, Department of Justice. Washington, DC. August 31, 2011.
Robert Goldstein. Picturing the Life Course of Procreative Choices, 58 UCLA Law Review Discourse 5 (2010).
Allison Hoffman. Retiree Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Spending: A Study of Consumer Expectations and Policy Implications (with Howell E. Jackson), 39 American Journal of Law and Medicine 1-72 (2013).
Jill R. Horwitz. Expansion of Invasive Cardiac Services in the United States (with Austin Nichols, Brahmajee K. Nallamothu, Comilla Sasson, and Theodore J. Iwashyna), 128(8) Circulation 803-810 (20 August 2013).
Jill R. Horwitz, , Wellness Incentives in the Workplace: Cost Savings through Cost Shifting to Unhealthy Workers (with Brenna D. Kelly, and John DiNardo), 32(3) Health Affairs 468-476 (2013).
Jerry Kang. Are Ideal Litigators White? Measuring the Myth of Colorblindness (with Nilanjana Dasgupta, Kumar Yogeeswaran, & Gary Blasi) 7 J. Empirical Leg. Studies 886-915 (2010).
Kenneth N. Klee. One Size Fits Some: Single Asset Real Estate Bankruptcy Cases, 87 Cornell Law Review 1285-1332 (2002).
Russell Korobkin. Who Wins in Settlement Negotiations? (with Joseph W. Doherty), 11 American Law and Economics Review 162-208 (2009).
Maximo Langer. Managerial Judging Goes International but its Promise Remains Unfulfilled: An Empirical Assessment of the ITCY Reforms (with Joseph W. Doherty), 36 Yale Journal of International Law 241 (2011).
Douglas Lichtman. Rethinking Prosecution History Estoppel, 71 University of Chicago Law Review 151 (2004).
Gerald P. López. The Health of Undocumented Mexicans in in New York City, 32 Chicano-Latino L. Rev. 1 (2013).
Gerald P. López. Access to and Use of Health Services Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in a U.S. Urban Area (with Arijit Nandi, Sandro Galea, Vijay Nandi, Stacey Strongarone & Danielle C. Ompad), 98 Am. J. Public Health 2011 (2008).
Gerald P. López. Hunger and Health Among Undocumented Mexican Migrants in a U.S. Urban Area (with Craig Hadley, Sandro Galea, Vijay Nandi, Arijit Nandi, Gerald López, Stacey Strongarone & Danielle Ompad), 11 Public Health Nutr. 151 (2008).
Lynn M. LoPucki. Controlling Professional Fees in Corporate Bankruptcies: Data, Analysis, and Evaluation (with Joseph W. Doherty). Oxford University Press (2011).
Lynn M. LoPucki. Bankruptcy Fire Sales (with Joseph W. Doherty), 106(1) Michigan Law Review (2007).
Timothy Malloy. The Social Construction of Regulation: Lessons from the War Against Command and Control, 58 Buffalo Law Review 267-354 (2010).
Neil Netanel. Making Sense of Fair Use, 15 Lewis & Clark Law Review 715-771 (2011).
James Park. Bond Investors and the Evolution of the Securities Class Action, 99 Minn. L. Rev. 585 (2014)
James Park. Securities Class Actions and Bankrupt Companies, 111 Michigan Law Review 547 (2013).
Richard H. Sander. Affirmative Action Bans and the "Chilling Effect" (with Kate L. Antonovics), 15 American Law & Economics Review 252 (2013).
Richard H. Sander. The Secret of My Success: How Status, Eliteness, and School Performance Shape Legal Careers (with Jane Bambauer), 2012 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 893-930 (2012).
Joanna C. Schwartz. Police Indemnification, 89 New York University Law Review 885 (2014).
Joanna C. Schwartz. A Dose of Reality for Medical Malpractice Reform, 88 New York University Law Review 1224 (2013).
Joanna C. Schwartz. What Police Learn from Lawsuits, 33 Cardozo Law Review 841 (2012).
Kirk J. Stark. Tiebout & Tax Revolts: Did Serrano Really Cause Proposition 13? (with Jonathan M. Zasloff), 50 UCLA Law Review 801-58 (2003).
Katherine Stone. The Decline in the Standard Employment Contract: Evidence from Ten Advanced Industrial Countries, in Rethinking Workplace Regulation: Beyond the Standard Contract of Employment (edited by Katherine V.W. Stone and Harry Arthurs, Russell Sage Foundation, 2013).
Rebecca Stone. Pricing Misperceptions: Explaining Pricing Structure in the Cell Phone Service Market (with Oren Bar-Gill), 9 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 430 (2012).
Alexander Stremitzer. Framing Contracts: Why Loss Framing Increases Effort (with Richard R. W. Brooks and Stephan Tontrup), 168 Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 62-82 (2012).
Sherod Thaxton. Leveraging Death, 103 Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 475 (2013).
Adam Winkler. Fatal in Theory and Strict in Fact: An Empirical Analysis of Strict Scrutiny in the Federal Courts, 59 Vanderbilt Law Review 793-871 (2006).
Stephen C. Yeazell. Getting What We Asked For, Getting What We Paid For, and Not Liking What We Got: The Vanishing Civil Trial, 1 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 943-971 (2004).
Jonathan Zasloff. Tiebout & Tax Revolts: Did Serrano Really Cause Proposition 13? (with Kirk J. Stark), 50 UCLA Law Review 801-58 (2003).
Noah Zatz. Revisiting the Class Parity Analysis of Welfare Work Requirements, 83 Social Service Review 213 (2009).
Eric M. Zolt. Inequality and Taxation: Evidence From the Americas on How Inequality May Influence Tax Institutions (with Kenneth L. Sokoloff), 59 Tax Law Review 167-241 (2006).