ABOUT LSSSE
As part of the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, LSSSE has been a provider of research products and services centered on the study of the law student experience since 2004. Through our consulting services, we help law schools maximize the usefulness of their survey data and their assessment activities. Through our research functions, we are a source of macro-level, empirical information about the law student experience.
Since 2004, 203 law schools in the U.S. (184), Canada (17), and Australia (2) have administered the LSSSE Survey, eliciting over 380,000 student responses—the largest such dataset in existence.
LSSSE adheres to the following core values:
- Rigor in research practices
- Responsiveness in meeting the needs of law schools and clients
- Diligence in voicing the student perspective
- Vigilance in remaining abreast of salient trends in legal education
- Openness in fostering strategic partnerships
- Dedication in working for the betterment of legal education
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Students are the heart of legal education. Whether we seek to improve teaching and learning, incorporate skills-based training, or develop assessment measures, we must begin with students. Too often, however, the student perspective is missing from discussions of the future of legal education. Law school reform efforts, premised on benefiting students, are rarely made with a holistic understanding of the student experience. Broadening this understanding is one of the primary goals of LSSSE.
LSSSE provides valid and reliable insights about legal education, from the viewpoint of students. Decades of data have shown that increasing student engagement in learning improves both their educational and professional outcomes. We specifically examine student perceptions of the effects and impacts of their law school experiences.
Our flagship service is the LSSSE Survey. Since 2004, over 350,000 students from 200 law schools in the U.S., Canada, and Australia have responded to the Survey, contributing to the largest dataset of its kind. The LSSSE Survey represents a wealth of valuable insights, with a focus on teaching, learning, and interactive methods linked to student performance.
For law schools, LSSSE provides an array of assessment tools. Through the LSSSE Survey, schools acquire critical information about the experiences of their students, including comparative analyses with peer schools. Our consulting services help law schools maximize the tangible usefulness of Survey results.
All of this is premised on bringing student voices to the fore. The past few years have yielded significant soul searching and reflection within legal education. Schools have been forced to consider their future in the context of new realities. Central to this process has been the consideration of how legal education can better serve students and prepare them for future practice.
At LSSSE, we remain committed to helping law schools understand their students and the effects of institutional programming on learning and practice-readiness. We are also dedicated to amplifying the student voice. As legal education moves into the future, compelling data from the student perspective must help inform the path forward.
Sincerely,
-Meera E. Deo, J.D., Ph.D.
MEET THE TEAM
Our Director
Meera E. Deo is the Director of LSSSE and Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, CA. Throughout her academic career, Deo’s scholarship has utilized original empirical research to examine legal education, including national, longitudinal, and mixed-method studies of the law student experience and the first formal empirical study of the personal and professional lives of legal academics. She holds a doctorate in Sociology from UCLA, and earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from UC Berkeley. As a law student and new attorney, Deo was an intervening-defendant and member of the legal team supporting affirmative action in the landmark case of Grutter v. Bollinger. She practiced law with the ACLU National Legal Department and the California Women’s Law Center before joining academia. Deo has held previous appointments at Berkeley Law, UCLA School of Law, and UCI Irvine School of Law. Her published work has appeared in leading law journals including UC Davis Law Review, Fordham Law Review, Hastings Law Journal, the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, the Harvard Journal on Racial & Ethnic Justice, and the Journal of Legal Education.
Contact Meera via email: mdeo@swlaw.edu
Our Project Manager
Chad Christensen is LSSSE’s Project Manager. In this role, he leads daily operations and works closely with law schools to encourage exploration and use of LSSSE results. Prior to joining LSSSE, Chad devoted more than a decade to student affairs working as a strategic manager for graduate and professional degree programs. During that time he focused on enrollment management, professional student engagement and success, and organizational strategy. Chad earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University and a M.A. in English from the University of North Florida.
Contact Chad via email: chachris@indiana.edu
Staff
Research Associates
Jakki PetzoldSenior Office Administrator
Katie NoelContact Us
Phone: 812.856.5823
Email: lssse@indiana.edu
Advisory Board
Bryant Garth (Chair)
Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus
Co-Director, Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession
University of California, Irvine School of Law
Richard A. Matasar
Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and
Institutional Effectiveness
Tulane University
Ajay K. Mehrotra
Executive Director & Research Professor
American Bar Foundation
Professor of Law & History
Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law
Rachel F. Moran
Distinguished Professor of Law
University of California, Irvine School of Law
Camille A. Nelson
Dean and Professor of Law
University of Hawai’i at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law
Lauren Robel
Provost and Executive Vice President
Indiana University, Bloomington
Kellye Y. Testy
President and CEO
Law School Admission Council
Faculty Associates
Elizabeth Chambliss
Professor of Law
New York Law School
Shari Diamond
Howard J. Trienens Professor of Law
Northwestern University Law School
William Henderson
Professor of Law and Val Nolan Faculty Fellow
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Andrew P. Morriss
Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Endowed Dean’s Chair
Texas A&M University School of Law
Carole Silver
Professor of Global Law and Practice
Faculty Director, Executive LLM Chicago
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Joyce Sterling
Professor
University of Denver Sturm College of Law