About the Center
The Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession (CERLP) is committed to empirical research and public engagement on issues relating to the legal profession. Building on the strengths of UC Irvine Law faculty, the center plays an important role in connecting the law school, UC Irvine, and local, regional, national and global communities of lawyers and scholars interested in the future of the legal profession.
CERLP is a leading center of empirical research on the legal profession nationally. In addition to its own research agenda, CERLP organizes presentations, conferences, and other events to engage and inform a wider public.
Founded in 2017, the Center hosted its first symposium the same year, on the state of empirical research on legal education. This conference explored topics such as law school debt and the return on investment in legal education; demand for law school admission generally, and among the “best and brightest” undergraduates; the LSSSE survey on legal education and the law student experience; the latest findings from the AJD research on lawyers’ careers; and the use of empirical research on the legal profession in law school courses. Another conference in 2017 addressed globalization, legal education, and transnational legal communities, in conjunction with UC Irvine Law’s Center on Globalization, Law, and Society (GLAS).
The Center has continued in subsequent years to host events highlighting important research on the legal profession. In 2018, CERLP held a conference on the After the JD project — an ambitious longitudinal study of lawyers’ careers. In 2019, it hosted a symposium on the Roles of Lawyers in Constitutional Change. In 2020, during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Center sponsored a workshop series featuring research by pre-tenure scholars. In 2021 through 2024, it held events celebrating important new books by more senior scholars of the profession.
During the 2025-2026 academic year, our Center will sponsor a speaker series on the theme of “Lawyers and the Rule of Law”.
In addition to hosting conferences and speakers, CERLP focuses attention on UC Irvine Law’s own research on lawyers, legal education, and globalization, as well as related work of faculty across the UC Irvine campus.
More broadly, CERLP is committed to studying the development of the legal profession within Orange County, and building alliances with local practitioners and firms.