Faculty News

The University of Kansas School of Law ranks No. 19 in the nation among public law schools and No. 43 overall for scholarly impact, according to a recent study.

A KU professor of law has laid out an argument for holding state police agencies responsible for constitutional rights abuses that is different than litigating cases against municipal agencies. Sharon Brett provides the outline for getting injunctions to stem both individual abuses and to prevent future abuses.

Raj Bhala, an international trade law expert at KU, has published two studies that examine the forced labor "revolution" in American trade policy and helps define the emerging area of digital trade.

“Water Law: Concepts and Insights, 2nd Edition” provides an overview of case law, understanding of where water law is currently, including an analysis of the emerging trend of access to water in the United States as a human right.

Spurred on by a desire to increase affordability for students and to broaden access for international colleagues shut out by costly paywalls, Raj Bhala worked with a team at KU Libraries to openly publish his widely used textbook on international trade law. He is the recipients of the 2024 Shulenburger Award for Innovation & Advocacy in Scholarly Communication.

On Oct. 24, the Institute for Policy & Social Research will convene the 2024 Kansas Economic Policy Conference: Powering the Future of Kansas. Every year, the conference brings together community and industry leaders, policymakers, and scholars to discuss an issue of urgent importance to the state.

The Kansas Energy Transition Atlas is a GIS-powered website that gathers wind energy regulations for all of the state's 105 counties and allows users to find information including laws guiding development and the number of turbines and transmission lines in a county. Users can print their own detailed maps.

The University of Kansas School of Law will welcome legal scholars to Lawrence for the annual meeting of the Midwestern Law and Economics Association on Sept. 20-21.

A KU energy and environmental law professor has published a new study arguing that keeping an open definition of energy communities, or those traditionally dependent on fossil fuel energies, can help ease the transition to renewables. The paper is part of ongoing work in energy justice and transition.

Andrew Torrance, a scholar of intellectual property, patent law, biotechnology, food and drug law, biodiversity law and environmental law, will present his inaugural distinguished professor lecture Sept. 9.