The Administrative Law Review is a quarterly publication that is managed and edited by approximately 90 students at American University Washington College of Law. ALR publishes articles and essays by law professors, judges, and expert practitioners, as well as notes and comments written by staff members. Each edition of ALR is a nexus of theory and practice, and the articles broadly cover the administrative law world, from cutting-edge recent developments to intensely theoretical jurisprudential analysis.
Recognized in the legal community as holding title to the highest circulation rate of any student-edited journal, ALR maintains a readership of roughly 9,500, which includes many of the federal agencies and law firms in Washington, D.C., and supreme courts around the world. ALR is known for its influence and relevance in both the scholarly legal community and the day-to-day practice of administrative law. The publication is routinely cited by the District of Columbia Circuit (which is known as the administrative law circuit), and since 2000 has been cited by the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal. It was also cited by the Supreme Court of the United States in one of the Court's most important and enduring decisions, INS v. Chadha.
The Administrative Law Review maintains a Digital Commons website, where abstracts for published articles may be found.
The Administrative Law Review maintains a website of public resources pertaining to administrative law. This website, which includes the pamphlet A Citizen's Guide to Influencing Agency Action, encourages citizen participation in the administrative rulemaking process by giving laypersons information that will help them participate meaningfully by writing comments, testifying at rulemaking hearings, and understanding what agencies can and cannot do.
Administrative Law Review Symposia: Call for Papers
The Administrative Law Review generally sponsors at least one symposium each year, and issues a general call for papers associated with each as a way to generate discussion and scholarship in the field and solicit articles for publication. For additional information, contact the Senior Symposium Editor at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
This year, the Administrative Law Review has had the pleasure of being able to schedule three administrative law-related forum events.
First, in May 2011, the Administrative Law Review co-hosted the 30th Anniversary OIRA Conference: Executive Oversight of Administrative Discretion, and published an associated Symposium issue of the Review. Notably, Cass Sunstein, the current Office of Information and Regulatory Analysis (OIRA) Administrator, spoke at the conference and his comments appear in the Symposium issue. The book is a collection of remarks and recollections on the first thirty years of the OIRA, and contributes to the scholarship surrounding the review of agency regulations at the executive level.
Second, the Administrative Law Review is hosting its primary symposium on February 17, 2012, entitled Interbranch Control Of Regulation: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Influence, and Agency Response. This daylong symposium will explore how the three branches each attempt to influence the outcome of regulation, review rulemakings, impose procedural obstacles to agency action, and exercise veto power over decisionmaking, and how the agencies maneuver to avoid those efforts.
Third, the Administrative Law Review will be hosting an afternoon symposium on January 25 on the creation and administration of a new trial-like review procedure, more commonly known as post-grant patent opposition, at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, titled Regulating Innovation: How the Patent and Trademark Office Intends to Create Adjudication From Scratch. This symposium explores the rulemaking that will be required of the agency, the implementation of the post-grant review process, and industry reaction to the proposed changes. We will explore whether the review process will help, or hurt, certain industries, as well as the patent process in general.
Links to Selected Recordings from the 2011 Administrative Law Review Symposium
Assistant Attorney General Tony West - Department of Justice Civil Enforcement Initiatives
Environmental Regulation Panel: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill & Lessons from Exxon Valdez
Keynote Address - Ken Feinberg
Financial Regulation Panel: Challenges Facing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau