Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession • AALS

Date Chartered: 7/17/2017

Purpose

The Section on Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession promotes communication relating to the empirical study of the full panoply of questions raised by legal education and the legal profession, encourages professional development and fostering of relevant skills and expertise for those interested in engaging in the empirical study of legal education and the legal profession, and fosters exploration of and exchange of information relating to research developments between distinct communities within legal education.

Bylaws

Leadership

Section Members

Awards

The Judith Welch Wegner Award

The Judith Welch Wegner Award honors the memory of Section co-founder and former AALS President Judith Welch Wegner by recognizing outstanding contributions to the empirical study of legal education or the legal profession.

Recipients

Year	Award Name	Honorable Mention	Law School
2026	Judith Welch Wegner Award	Elizabeth E. Mertz	American Bar Foundation and University of Wisconsin Law School
2026	Judith Welch Wegner Award	Jessica Steinberg	The George Washington University Law School
2025	The Judith Welch Wegner Award	Meera E. Deo	Southwestern Law School
2024	The Judith Welch Wegner Award	Deborah Jones Merritt	The Ohio State University, Michael E. Moritz College of Law