Although scholars may not be able to see each other at conferences or other events for the foreseeable future, they can still maintain some virtual connection.

The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Administrative Law is going to try out a new initiative: “Meet a Member.” The section will introduce our members from time to time, and it hopes that the initiative allows you to get to know some colleagues better or become familiar with those whom you just haven’t yet met in person.

The series begins with Associate Professor Bijal Shah at Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

AALS Administrative Law Section – Meet a Member

Bijal Shah

Institution:  Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

Hometown:  Peabody, MA.  I grew up with lots of snow and now am raising a family in the desert!  

Current Project:  I’m currently thinking about the intersection of presidential administration and administrative constitutionalism (for instance, how the President informs the [de-]evolution of the Constitution by agencies and impacts the constitutionality of agencies themselves).  Also, I’m considering a book project that builds on my previous research on interagency relationships that shape the constitutional branches.

Favorite APA Provision and why?  Perhaps 5 U.S.C. § 555, which concerns some important requirements of informal adjudication, when so little of the APA does.  

Hard Look or Soft Glance?  How about a lingering look, to encourage quality and consistency over time?  

You can pick three former or current Supreme Court Justices for a dinner party. Whom do you choose and why?  Hard to choose!  Off the top of my head, Thurgood Marshall, Louis Brandeis and Sonia Sotomayor, all of whom model[ed] courage, brilliance and hope.

What would students incorrectly assume about you?  In this regard, perhaps, what my students think of me is none of my business (with apologies to Eleanor Roosevelt).

A highly productive scholar, Professor Shah’s most recent law review articles are below (her forthcoming Executive Administration is one of my favorites):

• Executive Administration, 72 Stanford Law Review (forthcoming 2020)
• Congress’s Agency Coordination, 103 Minnesota Law Review 1961 (2019)
• Interagency Transfers of Adjudication Authority, 34 Yale Journal on Regulation 279 (2017)
• Uncovering Coordinated Interagency Adjudication, 128 Harvard Law Review 805 (2015)

Check out Professor Shah’s faculty profile here and download her papers from SSRN here.

Kent Barnett is the J. Alton Hosch Associate Professor, University of Georgia School of Law. He currently serves as Chair of the AALS Section on Administrative Law.