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 and Rowe Faculty Fellow in Regulatory Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Her research and teaching interests include administrative law, federalism, state and local government law, constitutional law, and property law. Her recent work focuses on executive power and the separation of powers at the state and federal levels, and on the role of civil society in public law. Her publications appear or are forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review, the NYU Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, and the Virginia 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 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
Thursday, 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 NewsMonday, Oct 21, 2019Separation of powers case before state Supreme Court could set Wisconsin apart, says Miriam Seifter
Wisconsin State JournalFriday, Jul 26, 2019A Q&A with Miriam Seifter on the Hastie Fellowship Program at UW Law
PrawfsBlawgThursday, 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
Thursday, Jan 24, 2019Governor reverses course on Affordable Care Act lawsuit; Miriam Seifter comments
Kenosha NewsTuesday, Jan 15, 2019Miriam Seifter weighs in on recent legal challenges to Wisconsin's lame-duck legislation
WUWMWednesday, Dec 12, 2018Miriam Seifter discusses veto powers held by Wisconsin governor
New York Times
Teaching Areas
- Administrative Law
- Energy Law
- Property Law
- State and Local Government
Recently Taught Courses
