The Law & Economics Center (LEC) at George Mason University School of Law is a national center for research and education that focuses on the timely and relevant economic analysis of legal and public policy issues.
Founded by George Mason Law School Dean Emeritus Henry G. Manne at the University of Miami in 1974, the Law & Economics Center has for 37 years been a nationally recognized home for law and economics scholarship and education. After having drifted away from it founding focus in recent years, the LEC is now once again concentrating on the Center’s strength — its goal of integrating the fields of law and economics. A more detailed history of the LEC and the development of the law and economics movement may be found in Manne’s monograph, An Intellectual History of the School of Law, George Mason University.
Today, as a vertically-integrated academic think tank, the LEC produces high quality research and then distributes the research with a sophisticated communications strategy that includes educational programs for judges, attorneys general, legislators, and other policy makers. The LEC relies on the law school’s renowned group of law-and-economics scholars, as well as other prominent experts, for research, teaching, and outreach activities.
The Law and Economics Center is comprised of five distinct divisions:
- The Henry G. Manne Program in Law & Economics Studies
- Searle Civil Justice Institute
- George Mason Judicial Education Program
- George Mason Attorneys General Education Program
- Congressional Civil Justice Caucus Academy
The Henry G. Manne Program and the Searle Civil Justice Institute (SCJI) produce research on a variety of public policy issues. The Manne Program promotes law-and-economics scholarship by funding faculty research and hosting research roundtables and academic conferences. SCJI large-scale research projects generate definitive policy reports on empirical findings and white papers on pressing legal and policy issues. The Judicial Education Program (JEP), the Attorneys General Education Program (AGEP), and the Congressional Civil Justice Caucus Academy (The Academy) focus on education. The JEP offers basic law-and-economics programs as well as advanced seminars on specialized topics to federal and state judges. The AGEP provides similar programs for state attorneys general and their staff attorneys. The Academy is a new program that provides rigorous and balanced education programs on a range of civil justice issues for the benefit of the general public and members of the U.S. Congress and their senior staff.
The LEC depends entirely on contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations to fund its operations. A list of current donors may be found by clicking here.