I am a law professor at the George Washington University and a Senior Scholar at the Center on Civil Justice at NYU Law School. I use empirical methods to understand people's ability to achieve just results for the problems they face. For example, how do people from various walks of life experience common civil legal problems like debt, conflicts with neighbors, or trouble collecting government benefits? When and how do they think about and act on these problems? I use qualitative and quantitative sociolegal research methods to understand these patterns, because I believe this understanding is key to designing new kinds of solutions to help people. Although civil justice problems may seem like "small problems" in isolation, they are enormous to the people experiencing them, and they accumulate, unsolved, in society, severely deepening existing inequalities.
My other research interests include parole, criminal procedure, and legal education. I also wrote a book called How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School that uses empirical insights to help law students have a greater sense of well-being. At GW, I teach Evidence and Criminal Law, and before joining GW, I was a tenured sociology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. My work is published in many law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, including California Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and Law & Society Review.
My other research interests include parole, criminal procedure, and legal education. I also wrote a book called How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School that uses empirical insights to help law students have a greater sense of well-being. At GW, I teach Evidence and Criminal Law, and before joining GW, I was a tenured sociology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. My work is published in many law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, including California Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and Law & Society Review.