Miriam Seifter
Associate Professor of Law
Education
B.A., Yale University
M.Sc., University of Oxford
J.D., Harvard Law School
Biography
Miriam Seifter is an Associate Professor of Law, Co-Director of the State Democracy Research Initiative, and Rowe Faculty Fellow in Regulatory Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Her research interests include federalism, administrative and constitutional law, and state and local government law, with a focus on challenges affecting democracy at the state level. She also teaches courses in Administrative Law, Property Law, and State and Local Government Law.
Professor Seifter's recent publications appear in the Harvard Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, and the NYU Law Review, among others. In 2017, UW Law students honored Professor Seifter with the Classroom Teacher of the Year Award, and in 2018, she received one of twelve Distinguished Teaching Awards from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For her article Gubernatorial Administration, Seifter was named the 2017 winner of the American Constitution Society's Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition on Regulatory and Administrative Law. Her article Understanding State Agency Independence won the ABA's 2020 Award for Scholarship in Administrative Law.
Professor Seifter received a B.A. magna cum laude from Yale University, an M.Sc. with distinction from Oxford University, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was the Environmental Fellow and an Articles Editor on the Harvard Law Review. After law school, she served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Merrick Garland on the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court of the United States. Prior to joining the UW Law faculty, she was a Visiting Researcher and Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center and worked in private practice at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco.
Scholarship & Publications
SSRN
Law Repository
Research Interests
- Administrative Law
- Federalism
- Separation of Powers
- State and Local Government Law
Activities
Miriam Seifter discussed state institutions and democracy during the John Gedid Lecture Series hosted by Widener University Commonwealth Law School on April 7, 2022.
Miriam Seifter served as a commentator during the 2021 Jorde Symposium—The Third Founding: The Rise of Multiracial Democracy and the Authoritarian Reaction Against It on Nov. 4, 2021. The event was hosted by UC Berkeley School of Law. Watch the symposium.
Miriam Seifter co-organized a symposium on Judge Jeff Sutton's new book Who Decides? Seifter co-organized the event with Dan Rodriguez of Northwestern Law and co-authored a post on SLoG Blog with Jessica Bulman-Pozen.
Miriam Seifter presented during the Harvard Law School Law and Politics Workshop on Sept. 28, 2021.
Miriam Seifter served as commentor on Emily R. Chertoff's “Agency Noncompliance, Agency Culture, and Inferior Officer Discipline” during the 2021 Administrative Law New Scholarship Roundtable hosted by Yale Law School.
Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon were panelists for "Meritorious RBG: The Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg On and Off the Bench" at the 19th Annual Meeting of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association in May.
Miriam Seifter served as a panelist for the discussion "Federalism in the age of COVID-19" at the UVA Miller Center. A video of the panel is available.
Miriam Seifter participated on a web panel, “COVID, Federalism and Localism,” in October 2020. The panel was part of a virtual workshop series organized by Yale Law School’s Solomon Center for Health, Law and Policy to examine the pandemic’s intersections with, and disruptions to, many areas of law.
Miriam Seifter's new co-authored article, "The Democracy Principle in State Constitutional Law" (with Jessica Bulman-Pozen), is forthcoming in the Michigan Law Review.
In May, Miriam Seifter spoke at “Federalism: Friend or Foe? Federal & State Authority to Fight COVID-19,” an event sponsored by the American Constitution Society.
The 2019 Wisconsin Law Review Symposium, which was chaired by former UW Law Professor Andrew Coan, featured a number of UW Law faculty, including Anuj Desai, Howie Erlanger, Neil Komesar, John Ohnesorge, Asifa Quraishi-Landes, David Schwartz, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon. The symposium, titled "Rationing the Constitution: How Judicial Capacity Shapes Supreme Decision-Making,” was held Oct. 24 and 25.
Miriam Seifter's article, “Gubernatorial Administration,” was published in the Harvard Law Review in December 2017.
Miriam Seifter's article, "Further from the People? The Puzzle of State Administration," will appear in the April 2018 issue of the New York University Law Review.
Miriam Seifter’s essay, “Complementary Separations of Power,” was published by the New York University Law Review Online in December.
Miriam Seifter’s article, "Second-Order Participation in Administrative Law," is forthcoming in the UCLA Law Review.
News & Media
Friday, Apr 8, 2022Seifter, Wiercioch, Schnur named UW Law School teachers of the year
Friday, Oct 15, 2021Miriam Seifter discusses: Is the Supreme Court too political?
WBURTuesday, Oct 5, 2021State Democracy Research Initiative launches, aims to foster better understanding of state governments
Friday, Oct 1, 2021Miriam Seifter discusses state and local government law, projects
Digging a Hole: The Legal Theory PodcastMonday, Jun 21, 2021Miriam Seifter discusses the power of governors
The EconomistThursday, Nov 19, 2020Miriam Seifter wins top honors for administrative law scholarship
Monday, Sep 21, 2020 Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon remember Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
LA TimesWednesday, Jul 1, 2020Can Wisconsin governor issue new mandates to curb pandemic spread? Miriam Seifter discusses
Milwaukee Journal SentinelWednesday, May 27, 2020Miriam Seifter: All states have empowered executive officials to address public health crises
The ProgressiveThursday, May 7, 2020GOP lawmakers file suit to block governor's stay home order; David Schwartz and Miriam Seifter weigh in
Milwaukee Journal SentinelMonday, May 4, 2020Wisconsin Supreme Court takes up Safer at Home lawsuit; Miriam Seifter comments
The ProgressiveWednesday, Apr 8, 2020Coordinating state and federal powers in a pandemic; Miriam Seifter weighs in
PEW TrustsTuesday, Mar 24, 2020Miriam Seifter discusses governors' powers during public health crises
Fox 6 NewsThursday, May 9, 2019Miriam Seifter and Robert Yablon honored with Vilas professorships and awards
Tuesday, Apr 16, 2019Miriam Seifter appointed to governor's Judicial Selection Advisory Committee
Teaching Areas
- Administrative Law
- Energy Law
- Property Law
- State and Local Government
Recently Taught Courses
