Randomized Control Trials in the United States Legal Profession

Greiner, D. James; Matthews, Andrea

doi:10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110413-030732

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Randomized Control Trials in the United States Legal Profession

Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Vol. 12, pp. 295-312, 2016

Posted: 18 Nov 2016

See all articles by D. James Greiner

D. James Greiner

Harvard University - Center on the Legal Profession

Andrea Matthews

Harvard Law School

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 2016

Abstract

We assemble studies within a set that we label randomized control trials (RCTs) in the US legal profession. These studies are field experiments conducted for the purpose of obtaining knowledge in which randomization replaces a decision that would otherwise have been made by a member of the US legal profession. We use our assembly of approximately 50 studies to begin addressing the question of why the US legal profession, in contrast to the US medical profession, has resisted the use of the RCT as a knowledge-generating device.

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Greiner, Daniel James and Matthews, Andrea, Randomized Control Trials in the United States Legal Profession (October 2016). Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Vol. 12, pp. 295-312, 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2870883 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110413-030732