Regulatory Policy Clinic

Introduction

The Regulatory Policy Clinic is sponsored by the Institute for Policy Integrity at the Law School, a think tank that works to improve the quality of government decision-making through advocacy in the fields of administrative law, economics, and public policy. The Clinic will focus on practice before federal agencies and courts to help students develop a set of core administrative lawyering skills. For more information about Policy Integrity, please visit the Policy Integrity website.

Course Description

This course is designed to teach students how to conduct effective advocacy before administrative agencies and courts on a wide range of issues, from environmental protection to public safety. While the substantive areas of administrative law and regulatory policy vary greatly, the course teaches a core set of skills -- including statutory interpretation, policy analysis, and understanding the political context of regulation -- that is required in all administrative law practices. The ability to critique the economic analyses that underlie agency actions is also an increasingly valuable tool for advocacy in the modern regulatory state. Through hands-on participation in regulatory proceedings (and related litigation) and a weekly seminar that focuses on the institutional structures and substantive standards of administrative decision-making, students will have the opportunity to cultivate these skills.

Fieldwork

Students work in teams and, together with Policy Integrity’s lawyers, tackle cutting-edge regulatory matters. Projects cover all rulemaking stages: drafting petitions, submitting comments, recommending changes to the regulatory process, engaging with executive reviewers, and participating in litigation as amicus curiae. Projects also target a wide variety of federal and state decision-makers, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Education, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the Supreme Court. In addition to policy analysis and administrative law skills, fieldwork provides rich opportunities for students to gain skills in collaborative problem-solving, effective communication of legal issues and strategies, working with non-legal experts, and relationship building.

Seminar

Students will also participate in a two-hour seminar held once every week on regulatory policy and advocacy, taught by the clinic directors. Guest speakers will share their perspectives from inside the government, advocacy groups, and academia. Through readings, class discussions, case studies, workshops, and peer critiques, the seminar will focus on developing theoretical and practical understanding of the regulatory process, bureaucratic decision-making, and executive and judicial review of agency action. The seminar also reviews the agency practice of cost-benefit analysis and will help students build the tools to critique the economic analyses that underlie federal regulation. Using both academic literature and fieldwork as jumping-off points, the seminar will focus on developing a rounded approach to administrative lawyering that includes consideration of the legal, policy, economic, and political issues that shape administrative decisions.

Learning Outcomes

This course is designed to teach students how to conduct effective advocacy before administrative agencies and courts on a wide range of issues, with a focus on evolving legal, economic, and policy issues in administrative law. Among other outcomes, the course is designed to teach students to:

• Write persuasively on complex legal, economic, and policy topics
• Write effective comment letters, memos, and amicus curiae briefs
• Write effective op-eds and blog posts on regulatory topics
• Think critically about emerging developments in administrative law and their relevance in regulatory proceedings
• Think critically about the practice of regulatory benefit-cost analysis and its relevance in regulatory proceedings
• Better understand the regulatory landscape and the role that non-governmental organizations and other institutional actors play in shaping regulations
• Develop cross-cultural competence, including the ability to incorporate economic arguments into legal advocacy and to write persuasively to a wide variety of audiences including regulators, judges, and the public
• Develop the ability to recognize and address bias and racism in legal systems, including the ability to think critically about potential interactions between regulation, inequality, and the practice of benefit-cost analysis
• Understand and engage in regulatory dockets

Application Procedure

Students interested in applying for the clinic should submit the standard application, resume, and transcript online through CAMS. A short interview is also required and can be scheduled through the CAMS system. If you have questions regarding the application procedure, please contact Max Sarinsky.

Student Contacts

Fall 2023
Brau, Joe
Charo, Isabelle
Miller, Max
Silverberg, Simon

Spring 2024
Dow, Jake
Na, Giebien
Papotto, Josephine

* 5 credits include 3 clinical (fieldwork) credits and 2 academic seminar credits per semester.