Dr. Emily Kadens

Biography

Professor Kadens is an award-winning legal historian with a particular focus on medieval and early modern history of commercial law practice. She holds a JD from the University of Chicago and a PhD in medieval history from Princeton University and specializes in English equity court archives. Her current research involves previously unexamined equity court files to write a book on the history of commercial cheating in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England. She has examined customs, the concept of law merchant, and the early history of English bankruptcy. Her work includes leading a team to build a machine learning model, named 'Egerton', utilizing an AI platform called Transkribus, capable of transcribing 16th- and early 17th-century English secretary hand with an average accuracy of 97%. In addition, she is leading a new project analyzing witness testimony in Early Modern English courts through AI. Kadens's notable publications include articles in prestigious journals such as the Columbia Law Review and the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, and she has received various accolades including the Sutherland Prize for her work on judicial education in England. At Northwestern, she has been recognized for her teaching excellence with awards such as the Childres Award for outstanding instruction. Kadens has also been involved in creating initiatives such as the Perspective Project and the Northwestern Summer Law Academy, aimed at fostering diversity and inclusiveness in legal education.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards