Janka D
- Research Program Mentor

JSD at Stanford University

Expertise

empirical legal studies, research design, and methodology; rule of law; policy impact studies; comparative constitutional law

Bio

The first time I encountered empirical legal research, I was fascinated by the possibility to answer questions interesting from a legal or policy perspective relying on data. My curiosity to understand how laws and institutions impact the economy and society and, in turn, how societal and political change inform new policies or lead to the modification of existing ones over time is what motivated me to learn data science and causal inference methods. Outside of research, I enjoy spending time with friends and in nature, trail running, baking, singing, dancing, attending musical performances, reading, and creating things with my hands.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Policy impact study

I can help you explore how a piece of legislation plays out in the real world. I am able to advise you on the (i) formulation of your research question(s), (ii) identification of the relevant scholarly discussions to contextualize your inquiry and form theoretically (and empirically) grounded hypotheses, (iii) selection of the appropriate data source(s), data collection method(s), and analytical tools, (iv) sensitivity/robustness checks, (v) interpretation of your results, and (vi) identification of your findings and their descriptive and/or normative implications and/or translation into policy recommendations. The outcomes of this project can include a research proposal (at the initial stage), a research memo, a research paper, and/or an op-ed.

Coding skills

R, Stata, python

Languages I know

Hungarian (native), English (full professional proficiency), French (limited professional proficiency), Mandarin Chinese (beginner)

Teaching experience

As a JSD candidate, I taught a diverse student body at Stanford Law School of over 50 JD, LLM, JSM, and MIP students as graduate teaching assistant, co-instructor, and primary instructor of Statistical Inference in Law. Additionally, I have given guest lectures and lead workshops to graduate students at Stanford Law School, Stanford Data Science, and my alma mater Pazmany Peter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary. These lectures and workshops covered topics ranging from quantitative research methods and causal inference in empirical legal research to the measurement and operationalization of elusive concepts such as the rule of law. Finally, for the past decade, I have been mentoring law students pursuing JD, JSM, and JSD degrees. I enjoy discussing research ideas, formulating research questions, matching questions with the appropriate research methods, developing and reviewing research design, discussing the interpretation of results, brainstorming alternative hypotheses just as much as I enjoy discussing potential scholarship and fellowship opportunities and reviewing applications for them.

Credentials

Work experience

UC Berkeley School of Law (2024 - Current)

Miller Empirical Fellow

Education

Pazmany Peter Catholic University

JD Juris Doctorate (2017)

Law

Stanford University

JD/MS Juris Doctorate and Master of Science (2019)

Empirical and Interdisciplinary Legal Research