2023 Symposium
Data Justice: How Innovative Data is Transforming the Law
October 20, 2023
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Aspen Hall, Rubloff 150
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Northwestern University Law Review is thrilled to announce its fall symposium, Data Justice: How Innovative Data is Transforming the Law.
Currently, most of the workings of the federal judiciary are hidden from the public and researchers—from how judges differ in managing cases, to how cases involving corporations differ from those between individuals. This isn’t because data about the workings of the court is unavailable. It’s because the data is locked behind a paywall, with an interface that prevents users from assessing systematic patterns about court activity.
Responding to this challenge, Northwestern assembled a team of legal scholars and practitioners, data scientists, engineers, journalists, and public policy experts to develop next-generation legal data sets and tools. With support from the National Science Foundation, this interdisciplinary team began building an AI powered data platform that makes the details of the federal judiciary available and accessible to every person.
Northwestern University Law Review’s 2023 symposium celebrates the product of the team’s innovative efforts—SCALES OKN (Systematic Content Analysis of Litigation EventS Open Knowledge Network). With presentations from SCALES team members and a diverse array of legal scholars, the symposium delves into the new lines of research opened up by SCALES OKN.
NULR’s symposium also looks to future, imagining the (im)possible. Bringing together the SCALES team and practitioners with experience in legal policy’s most challenging areas—criminal justice reform, access to justice, and civil litigation efficiency—the symposium opens up dialogue on how SCALES OKN can continue to evolve and support the needs of legal reformers.
Continuing Legal Education Information:
Written materials are available here.
This program is approved for 4.75 general CLE credit hours in the state of Illinois. Attendees must fill out and return the paper attendance log provided at the program by November 3rd, 2023. Late requests for credit will not be accommodated. With questions, please contact external-partnerships@law.northwestern.edu.
Symposium Schedule
Friday, October 20
(All times are Central Daylight Time.)
9:00-10:15 Introductions & SCALES Demonstration
Professor Kat Albrecht, Georgia State University; Professor Luís Amaral, Northwestern University; Professor Sarath Sanga, Yale Law School; Professor Amy Sanders, University of Texas at Austin; Professor David Schwartz, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
10:30–11:45 Panel I: Data and Civil Law
Panelists: Professor Charlotte Alexander, Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business; Professor Chris Cotropia, University of Richmond School of Law; Mr. Nathan Dahlberg, Independent Analyst; Professor Adam Pah, Georgia State University; Professor Sarath Sanga, Yale Law School; Professor Anne Tucker, Georgia State University College of Law.
11:45-12:00
Boxed Lunch Break.
12:00–1:00 Keynote Address
Professor Tanina Rostain, Georgetown University Law Center
1:00-1:15
Break.
1:15–2:30 Panel II: Data & Criminal Law
Panelists: Professor Caitlin Glass, Boston University Antiracist Research Center; Professor Perry Moriearty, University of Minnesota Law School; Professor Neel Sukhatme, Georgetown University Law Center; Professor Corey Yung, University of Kansas School of Law.
2:35–4:00 Panel III & Closing Remarks: Access to Justice
Panelists: Ms. Kaitlyn Filip, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts; Ms. Kim Gordon, Gordon & Saunders; Professor Shobha Mahadev, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law; Ms. Elizabeth Monkus, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts; Mr. Anthony Powers, Seattle Clemency Project; Professor Amy Sanders, University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism and Media.