About Administrative & Regulatory Law
Administrative Law focuses on interactions with governmental institutions. It includes government regulation, legislation, rulemaking, and relationships with public owners.
Virtually all governmental bodies, whether they are federal, state, or local, have their own sets of procedures and practices for processing applications, making claims, developing laws and regulations, obtaining grants, etc. Understanding and complying with these requirements is essential to pursuing matters before these bodies. There is also a significant substantive component to administrative law. Highly regulated fields include environmental protection, energy, banking, transportation, healthcare, and professional licensing, among many others. Understanding and applying principles of administrative law are critical to effectively representing clients in these fields. Administrative law is also important in interactions with government in its proprietary capacity, e.g., eminent domain, real estate development, contracts, construction.
Lawyers who do administrative or regulatory law work in law firms, in corporations, and in government agencies. Because they work with complex regulations, they must be attentive to details. Other skills, such as negotiation skills, writing, and oral communications are also important.
Courses
Note: Whether a particular course is scheduled depends on faculty availability and student demand. View the Course Descriptions for more information about each course and when it's offered.
Core/Foundation Courses
These are the core courses that — at a minimum — employers expect a student interested in this specialty to have.
Recommended Courses
Students interested in this practice area should consider including one or more of the following courses as electives.
Enrichment Courses
These courses deepen or broaden the skills and substantive information that a lawyer in this field needs and may also provide advanced courses for students interested in a specialty within this area of practice.
- Business Organizations I
- Contracts II
- Evidence
- Federal Jurisdiction
- Selected Problems in Environmental Law: Food Systems Law Seminar
Curriculum Questions
For particular Administrative Law curriculum questions, contact Miriam Seifter, Steph Tai, or John Ohnesorge.
Clinics, Internships, & Externships
Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic
The Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic is staffed by volunteer student advocates who assist clients in obtaining unemployment compensation benefits. Student advocates work closely with supervising attorneys and gain litigation and case management experience while helping those in need of benefits who cannot afford representation.
Learn more about the Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic »
Wisconsin Department of Justice Externship
This program offers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in civil litigation and public advocacy, with placements in one of the following units of the agency: Civil Litigation Unit; Consumer Protection and Antitrust Unit; Criminal Appeals Unit; Criminal Litigation Unit; Environmental Protection Unit; Medicaid Fraud Unit; and State Programs, Administration and Revenue (SPAR) Unit.
Learn more about the Wisconsin Department of Justice Externship »
Labor Law Externship
The Labor Law Externship provides placements for students in a labor law setting. Students spend two days a week working under the supervision of attorneys of the National Labor Relations Board in Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission in Madison, the Department of Labor's Chicago regional office, or in other similar agencies. They attend hearings, write draft opinions, research issues, write memos, and in general are exposed to the broad range of work done by the agency. Contact Externship Director Erin McBride at erin.mcbride@wisc.edu for additional information.
Government and Legislative Clinic
The Government and Legislative Law Clinic (GLLC) provides students with the unique opportunity to observe and participate in the many facets of governmental law, policy and the legislative process. Working under the direct supervision of clinical faculty and clients in legislative and administrative settings, students will gain first-hand experience working with government clients on legal issues with policy significance. Students accepted into this program earn between 3 and 6 credits depending upon their particular placement. Participation is limited to second and third-year law students. Contact Externship Director Erin McBride for additional information at erin.mcbride@wisc.edu.
Law Externship Course
Second and third year law students can receive academic credit through the Law Externship course for work at almost any state or federal governmental agency. Contact Externship Director Erin McBride at erin.mcbride@wisc.edu for more information.
Student Organizations & Related Activities
Students involved in student activities and organizations are often strong job candidates. Employers look for students who show leadership, public service, and community involvement.
For a full list of student organizations at UW Law, view the Student Organizations, Journals, & Activities.
Faculty
Here are some of the full-time faculty who teach or have an interest in this subject area:
- Miriam Seifter, Associate Professor
- Steph Tai, Professor
- John Ohnesorge, Professor
In addition to our full-time faculty, the Law School's adjunct faculty members — prominent practicing lawyers and judges — bring their specialized knowledge and experience to the classroom. Filter by "Adjunct" in the Law School Directory for a full list.
