Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS 2026)
October 2-3, 2026
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is pleased to host the 20th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS 2026) on October 2-3, 2026. CELS is an interdisciplinary gathering that draws empirical researchers from across the United States and the world, bringing together scholars in law, economics, political science, psychology, and other fields who are interested in the empirical analysis of law and legal institutions.
This conference is co-sponsored by Northwestern Pritzker Law and the Society for Empirical Legal Studies.
Program
CELS 2026 Program (pdf)
Conference papers are available to registered participants using their provided password.
Keynote
Unlocking Legal Texts with LLMs
Presented by Professor Elliott Ash
Pre-Conference Workshop
Thursday, October 1, 1-5 pm
AI for Empirical Legal Research: A Hands-On Workshop
Led by Nathan Reitinger and Emilio Lehoucq
This hands-on workshop will use sample legal research questions and datasets to demonstrate how Claude Code can support empirical legal research. Participants will use Claude Code to write code for linking datasets, cleaning data, creating visualizations, and conducting analyses, using whichever software they prefer (e.g., Stata, R, Python). The workshop will emphasize breaking complex tasks into manageable steps and verifying Claude’s output at each stage, rather than asking AI to produce results directly.
Register for the Workshop
Travel Grant Application
The Society of Empirical Legal Studies (SELS) has approved us to award a small number of travel grants of no more than $1,000 each in connection with attendance at CELS. To be eligible, the attendee must be a student, postdoctoral fellow, or hold a similar post-graduate, temporary academic position. The deadline has passed and we are no longer accepting travel grant applications.
Registration
Become a SELS Member
Membership includes a subscription to the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies (JELS), provided through Wiley. Annual dues are $61 for online access or $82 if you prefer to include a print copy. Students can join at a reduced rate of $33 for online access or $42 with print.
CELS 2026 Registration
Registration for CELS 2026 is $245, with a discounted rate of $60 available for students.
Pre-Conference Workshop
The half day, hands-on pre-conference workshop will be held on October 1, from 1-5 pm. Registration is $150, with a discounted rate of $75 for graduate students.
Location
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
420 E Superior St, Chicago, IL 60611
Hotels
There are many hotels at different price points within walking distance of the Law School. We encourage attendees to book hotel reservations early, as we expect rates will increase as the conference dates get closer.
Organizers
Stephanie Didwania
Professor of Law
Kyle Rozema
Professor of Law
David Schwartz
William G. and Virginia K. Karnes
Research Professor of Law
Questions?
Contact us at celsnorthwestern2026@gmail.com with any questions about the conference.
Submissions
The deadline for paper submissions has passed. We are no longer accepting submissions for CELS 2026.
Call for Papers details (pdf)
We welcomed submission of papers within the following areas:
- Administrative Law and Legislation
- AI, Privacy, and Technology
- Antitrust and IP
- Bankruptcy and Corporate Finance
- Civil Procedure, Litigation, and Dispute Resolution
- Constitutional Law, Elections, and Political Economy
- Contracts, Commercial Law, and Consumer Law
- Corporate Law and Securities Regulation
- Courts and Judging
- Crime, Criminal Law, and Policing
- International Law, Comparative Law, and Immigration
- Labor, Employment, and Discrimination
- Legal Education and Legal Practice
- Property and Environmental Law
- Psychology and Law
- Tax and Public Finance
- Torts, Health Law, and Insurance
- Other
Conference History
The Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS) was launched in 2006, in response to the growing level of empirical scholarship in law schools and elsewhere. It has thus far been held at the following, in each case with generous support from the host school.
- University of Texas School of Law (2006)
- NYU School of Law (2007)
- Cornell Law School (2008)
- USC Gould School of Law (2009)
- Yale Law School (2010)
- Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (2011)
- Stanford Law School (2012)
- University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (2013)
- UC Berkeley School of Law (2014)
- Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (2015)
- Duke University School of Law (2016)
- Cornell Law School (2017)
- University of Michigan Law School (2018)
- Claremont McKenna College (2019)
- University of Toronto Faculty of Law (March 2022)
- University of Virginia School of Law (November 2022)
- University of Chicago Law School (2023)
- Emory University School of Law (2024)
- Georgetown Law Center (2025)
The founding organizers of CELS are Jennifer Arlen, Bernie Black, Ted Eisenberg, Michael Heise, and Geoffrey Miller.