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2024 Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS)

Emory Law front sign

18th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS)

Emory University School of Law is pleased to host the 18th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS) on November 8-9, 2024. CELS is an interdisciplinary gathering that draws 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 the Emory Center for Law and Social Science, the Emory Department of Political Science, and the Emory Department of Quantitative Theory and Methods.

REGISTER FOR THE 2024 CONFERENCE ON EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUDIES (CELS) »

(If experiencing any issues with registration and/or payment, please contact cels-2024@emory.edu.)

Waiver Requests

CELS 2024 has a limited set of funds available to support students and other scholars who face financial hardship in attending. If you are applying for a registration fee waiver, do not register until you have received instructions on how to proceed. Fee waivers will not be applied retroactively.

  • Registration Fee Waiver Request
  • Travel Assistance Request

View CELS 2024 Waiver Request Form »

CELS 2024 Agenda

 Each panel is scheduled for two hours for three or four papers. Presentations proceed in the order listed on the program. Moderators should keep their panels strictly on schedule. This will allow attendees to switch rooms during concurrent sessions.

For panels with three papers, each paper is allotted 40 minutes: 18 minutes (max.) for the author’s presentation, 8 minutes for the discussant comments (max.), and 14 minutes for Q&A (min.). For panels with four papers, each paper is allotted 30 minutes: 14 minutes (max.) for the author’s presentation, 6 minutes (max.) for the discussant comments, and 10 minutes for Q&A (min.). The last presenter in each session is the moderator, meaning they are responsible for giving — and enforcing — time cues to the other presenters. Time cards will be available in each room.

View the schedule of panels »

Conference Organizers and Committee

Email the CELS 2024 committee: cels-2024@emory.edu

Organizers:

Directions and Accomodations

The Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS) organizing committee is gathering blocks at hotels in the area of the conference. We will add hotel blocks as they become available. All hotels are in Midtown Atlanta and Decatur. Both are about a 20-25 minute ride to Emory, and both areas have many restaurants. Midtown is accessible by MARTA - the Atlanta subway - by a single train ride. Decatur is also served by MARTA, but one has to change trains at the Five Points station. 

Be sure to check on the relevant cancelation policy – usually 24 or 48 hours before check-in. 
Note: rooms may still be available at regular rates after cut-off dates for special rates. 

MIDTOWN

Hampton Inn & Suites - Atlanta Midtown

The Hilton Garden Inn - Midtown

Residence Inn by Marriott Atlanta Midtown at 17th 

Marriott Atlanta Midtown(MOXY)

Loews Atlanta Hotel

Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown

DECATUR

Residence Inn Atlanta Decatur

Conference History

The annual Conferences on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS) were launched in 2006, in response to the growing level of empirical scholarship in law schools and elsewhere. It has thus far been held at University of Texas (2006), NYU (2007), Cornell Law School (2008), USC (2009), Yale (2010), Northwestern (2011), and Stanford (2012), Penn (2013), UC Berkeley (2014), Washington University School of Law in St. Louis (2015), Duke University Law School (2016), Cornell Law School (2017), University of Michigan Law School (2018), Claremont McKenna College (2019), Toronto Law School (March 2022), University of Virginia Law School (November 2022), University of Chicago Law School (2023), in each case with generous support from the host school.

The founding organizers of CELS are Bernie Black (Northwestern), Jennifer Arlen and Geoffrey Miller (NYU), and Ted Eisenberg and Michael Heise (Cornell).