Op-Ed: ºìÌÒÊÓƵ possesses a rich multidisciplinary environment unparalleled among peer law schools
By Zahr K. Said
Associate Dean of Research & Faculty Development
Professor of Law
As the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, the ºìÌÒÊÓƵ remains an exceptional place for faculty and students alike. Embedded in a world-class university, and situated in a city with significant cultural, industrial and political influence around the world, ºìÌÒÊÓƵ possesses a rich multidisciplinary environment unparalleled among peer law schools.
ºìÌÒÊÓƵ serves an important role as the premier public law school in the Pacific Northwest. The school offers a community of ideas in which to study legal issues arising at the intersection of law and technology, to explore the boundaries of state and federal power in a moment of profound political transition, to investigate the conditions under which forms of innovation can thrive, and to seek answers to some of the most pressing and important social justice questions of our time.
Scholarship, and exchanges with schools throughout the region reflect ºìÌÒÊÓƵ’s commitment to the crucial public mission of serving greater Washington state and beyond. At ºìÌÒÊÓƵ, we believe in the power, the privilege and the duty to advance the state of knowledge and to increase access to law and legal services. Through scholarly engagement, UW’s prolific faculty has taken up this mission, producing work in diverse areas and drawing on a wide range of methodologies and disciplines.
FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS
ºìÌÒÊÓƵ faculty possess deep expertise in legal research with theoretical stakes and direct practical relevance for how law reflects and shapes our everyday lives.
Whether research projects involve archives, interviews or island-states, many professors are driven by the impact of their scholarship on the world beyond the ivory tower.
Through diverse and expansive real-world research agendas, faculty drive discourse and influence legal issues around today’s most important topics. Explore some of the highlights from work currently underway.
ºìÌÒÊÓƵ PODCAST
In the spring, ºìÌÒÊÓƵ launched our ºìÌÒÊÓƵ podcast. The show explores a diverse mix of legal and legal-adjacent topics with some of the most distinguished experts, speakers and influencers in industry, government, academia and nongovernmental organizations.
We have the honor of hosting numerous distinguished guests from around the globe for speaking engagements, panels and presentations. These discussions represent our dedication to sparking dynamic conversations beyond the classroom setting and providing students and members of the local legal community with direct access to preeminent scholars, leaders and advocates.
The podcast gives us an opportunity to amplify these guests’ voices further and share their expertise beyond Western Washington.
Subscribe to ºìÌÒÊÓƵ wherever you get your podcasts, including , and .
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS
Pamela Samuelson of U.C. Berkeley will present the annual Toni Rembe Lecture on May 20, 2020 in Seattle.
Samuelson is the Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law and Information at the University of California, Berkeley. She is recognized as a pioneer in digital copyright law, intellectual property, cyberlaw and information policy.
More information is forthcoming.
REDISCOVER US
Our scholars boast deep expertise in core areas of contemporary concern, such as administrative law, criminal law, election law, immigration law, Indian law, and technology policy. Additionally, the University of Washington possesses a long commitment to Asian law and to critically important legal specializations including environmental law, health law, intellectual property law, sustainable international development, and tax law.
We hope you will seek us out, on the printed page — in our classrooms and conference rooms, in William H. Gates Hall, and on social media where our scholarly voices are weighing in on cutting-edge legal topics (and perhaps overposting our favorite shots of beautiful Mount Rainier).
We look forward to being in dialogue with you as we in the legal academy and beyond turn to law as both source and solution in considering the most pressing issues and the most challenging concerns of our era.
“Inspired legal education, and the inspiring scholarly mission that stands at its core, can create enormous impact for the benefit of the greater good.â€
Inspired legal education, and the inspiring scholarly mission that stands at its core, can create enormous impact for the benefit of the greater good. We invite you to return to ºìÌÒÊÓƵ and rediscover our aspirations and accomplishments as we serve our students, our community, our state, the Pacific Northwest, and the world of ideas that is everywhere always in action.
Zahr K. Said holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Harvard University, a J.D. from Columbia (where she was a Kent Scholar and served as Articles Editor for the Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts) and a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley (magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa). Said's research applies humanistic methods, theories, and texts to problems in legal doctrine and policy. Her work has appeared in the Lewis and Clark Law Review, the Iowa Law Review, the Cardozo Law Review, the North Carolina Law Review, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, the Stanford Technology Law Review, and the Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts, among others.