The Legal Measurement Methods Convening hosted by the Center for Public Health Law Research (CPHLR), was held on May 14-15, 2024, in Philadelphia, PA, with a virtual option for participants who were unable to attend in person. The meeting focused on two immediate goals:

1. Reach consensus on basic legal measurement concepts and methods.
2. Develop a plan to produce EQUATOR reporting guidelines.

Consensus was reached in the meeting that next steps include securing funding for the reporting process, including the Delphi and future consensus meeting(s); and drafting one or more papers that set out important points of consensus on desirable methods or the need for further work.

To develop the guidelines, the consortium aims to follow the EQUATOR Network Process for Reporting Guidelines. This involves:

1. Kickstarting guideline development

To kickstart the process of developing reporting guidelines, the consortium will began by reviewing available literature. This included examining the quality of reporting in existing studies and identifying any current guidance that may inform the new standards. We will register the project with the EQUATOR Network to provide broader visibility and support for the initiative and Develop publications summarizing the need for legal epi reporting guidelines.

This was completed in March 2025. The registration is listed under the Standards for Legal Epidemiology Reporting (STLER) with the Equator Network.

2. Conducting a Delphi Process

The consortium will use the Delphi method to explore consensus on potential legal epidemiology reporting standards. We will recruit an online panel of experts to rate the importance of individual reporting standards in several questionnaire rounds, with each questionnaire refined based on the feedback from respondents on the previous round. This process will be used to inform the list of reporting standards to be considered for inclusion in the guideline at the consensus meeting.

• More information on the Delphi method: Moher, David, Kenneth F. Schulz, Iveta Simera, and Douglas G. Altman. "Guidance for developers of health research reporting guidelines." PLoS medicine 7, no. 2 (2010): e1000217.
• More on previous Delphi in legal epi here: Presley, D., Reinstein, T., Webb-Barr, D., & Burris, S. (2015). Creating legal data for public health monitoring and evaluation: Delphi standards for policy surveillance. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 43(S1), 27-31. 

3. Obtaining Consensus

The consortium will convene to reach consensus on the finalized guideline standards, focusing on the critical components highlighted in the Delphi feedback. Together, we will identify and select the most essential elements for inclusion in a checklist, ensuring it reflects the key components necessary for comprehensive guidelines.

4. Drafting the Reporting Guideline

A drafting committee will draft the reporting guideline.

5. Disseminating the Reporting Guideline

Finally, the consortium will share the reporting guidelines with the research community and beyond via publications, conferences, and organizational meetings.