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The Legal Academy's Ideological Uniformity

Author

Listed:
  • Bonica, Adam

    (Stanford University)

  • Chilton, Adam

    (University of Chicago)

  • Rozema, Kyle

    (Northwestern University)

  • Sen, Maya

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

We compare the ideological balance of the legal academy to the ideological balance of the legal profession. To do so, we match professors listed in the Association of American Law Schools Directory of Law Teachers and lawyers listed in the Martindale-Hubbell directory to a measure of political ideology based on political donations. We find that 15% of law professors, compared to 35% of lawyers, are conservative. After controlling for individual characteristics, however, this 20 percentage point ideological gap narrows to around 13 percentage points. We argue that this ideological uniformity marginalizes law professors, but that it may not be possible to improve the ideological balance of the legal academy without sacrificing other values.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonica, Adam & Chilton, Adam & Rozema, Kyle & Sen, Maya, 2017. "The Legal Academy's Ideological Uniformity," Working Paper Series rwp17-023, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp17-023
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adam Bonica & Maya Sen, "undated". "A Common-Space Scaling of the American Judiciary and Legal Profession," Working Paper 345856, Harvard University OpenScholar.
    2. repec:oup:amlawe:v:19:y:2017:i:1:p:96-128 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Adam Bonica & Adam S. Chilton & Jacob Goldin & Kyle Rozema & Maya Sen, 2017. "The Political Ideologies of Law Clerks," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 19(1), pages 96-128.
    4. Bonica, Adam & Sen, Maya, 2017. "A Common-Space Scaling of the American Judiciary and Legal Profession," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 114-121, January.
    5. Raymond Fisman & Pamela Jakiela & Shachar Kariv, 2014. "The Distributional Preferences of Americans," NBER Working Papers 20145, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Bonica, Adam & Sen, Maya, 2015. "The Politics of Selecting the Bench from the Bar: The Legal Profession and Partisan Incentives to Politicize the Judiciary," Working Paper Series rwp15-001, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    7. Eisenberg, Theodore & Wells, Martin T, 2000. "Inbreeding in Law School Hiring: Assessing the Performance of Faculty Hired from Within," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(1), pages 369-388, January.
    8. Adam Bonica, 2014. "Mapping the Ideological Marketplace," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 58(2), pages 367-386, April.
    9. Adam S. Chilton & Eric A. Posner, 2015. "An Empirical Study of Political Bias in Legal Scholarship," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(2), pages 277-314.
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