Shari Seidman DiamondView profile
Professor
Shari Seidman Diamond is the Howard J. Trienens Professor of Law at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law and a Professor of Psychology. She is also a Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation. An attorney and social psychologist, Professor Diamond is one of the foremost empirical researchers on jury process and legal decision-making, as well as the use of science by the courts. Her work bridges law and social science, with significant contributions to understanding how juries function and how scientific evidence is utilized in legal contexts. Professor Diamond earned her BA from the University of Michigan, JD with honors from the University of Chicago, and both her MA and PhD in Psychology from Northwestern University. Prior to her current position, she practiced law at Sidley Austin in Litigation and Intellectual Property, and taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research focuses on the intersection of law and psychology, with particular expertise in jury decision-making processes, trademark law, and empirical legal studies. Professor Diamond has conducted groundbreaking research on real jury deliberations and has studied jury systems in Argentina. Her work examines how scientific evidence is interpreted by legal decision-makers and how survey methodology applies to legal contexts like trademark disputes. She has published over 150 scholarly works that have appeared in major law reviews and interdisciplinary journals. Professor Diamond's publications have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal and state courts. Her research demonstrates consistent patterns across legal domains where empirical evidence informs judicial decision-making, particularly in how juries process complex information and how scientific surveys are evaluated as evidence. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2012) Harry Kalven, Jr. Award from the Law & Society Association (2010) American Psychological Association award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy (1991) Professor Diamond has held significant leadership positions including Editor of the Law & Society Review and President of the American Psychology-Law Society. She developed and directed Northwestern's JD/PhD program, fostering interdisciplinary education. As a member of the ABA's American Jury Project, she helped draft the Principles for Juries and Jury Trials adopted in 2005. She currently serves on the Seventh Circuit Committee on Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions and has consulted for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice. Her expert testimony has been presented in American and Canadian courts on matters concerning juries, trademarks, and deceptive advertising. Professor Diamond is affiliated with Northwestern's Institute for Policy Research and the Center for Legal Studies, where she contributes to interdisciplinary research initiatives examining law, policy, and social science intersections. Her ongoing work continues to shape both academic scholarship and legal practice through empirical approaches to legal questions.
