Foreword to JELS special issue

• Published date: 01 December 2024
• Date: 01 December 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jels.12403

FOREWORD

Foreword to JELS special issue

In October 2023, over 200 scholars gathered at the University of Chicago’s new

state-of-the-art conference facility (the David Rubenstein Forum) under gray

skies and in the midst of rain for the 17th Annual Conference on Empirical

Legal Studies (CELS). Happily, knowing our local climate all too well, we had

the forethought to provide all attendees with umbrellas bearing the University

of Chicago logo (we have considered but rejected the possibility that the deci-

sion to provide umbrellas had a causal impact on that weekend’s rainfall).

CELS has established itself as a leading forum for the presentation and dis-

cussion of empirical research on topics related to the law. However, this was

only the second in-person CELS following the pandemic. The University of

Chicago Law School was proud to host this event and to welcome so many

scholars from around the United States and the world (although, regrettably,

some of those on the program were unable to travel to Chicago then due to the

outbreak of war in the Middle East just before the conference). CELS is unique

in the range of disciplinary perspectives it encompasses (including scholars from

law, economics, political science, psychology, criminology, accounting, finance,

and other fields). Another distinctive feature of CELS is the crucial role played

by discussants who engage deeply with the methodology and substantive contri-

butions of the papers they are assigned. CELS is also notable for the depth of

audience engagement with the papers. With the Chicago weather cooperating

by lowering the opportunity cost of attending sessions, the conference was mar-

ked by especially lively, thoughtful, and respectful discussions of ideas and

methods.

The nine papers included in this special issue of the Journal of Empirical

Legal Studies (JELS) represent a small sample of the wide range of papers pres-

ented at CELS in Chicago. They cover a variety of topics ranging from the

empirical study of the legal profession to experimental tests of the Coase Theo-

rem. Several of these papers reflect the increasing use of machine learning and

related analytical tools in empirical legal studies. We believe that the patience,

discipline, and humility required to undertake careful empirical research—such

as that presented at CELS and published in this special issue—provides a valu-

able model of rigorous scholarly inquiry and discourse. We thank the presenters,

discussants, area organizers, reviewers, the event staff at the University of

Chicago Law School and the Rubenstein Forum, and the editorial team at JELS

for making the 17th Annual CELS and this special issue possible.

DOI: 10.1111/jels.12403

©2024 Cornell Law School and Wiley Periodicals LLC.

714 J Empir Leg Stud. 2024;21:714–715.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jels