Nina Varsava
Associate Professor of Law
Contact
nvarsava@wisc.edu
608/265-9497
975 Bascom Mall, 8105 Law Building, Madison, WI, USA, 53706-1399
Education
J.D., Yale Law School
Ph.D., Stanford University
M.A., University of British Columbia
B.A., University of Alberta
Biography
Nina Varsava’s research focuses on procedure, courts, judicial administration, legal ethics, and jurisprudence. She is especially interested in issues of precedent, interpretation, and intersystemic adjudication. She teaches courses on civil procedure, professional responsibility, and philosophy of law.
Varsava’s recent scholarship is forthcoming or has appeared in Legal Theory, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Notre Dame Law Review, and the Yale Journal of Law and Humanities, among other journals. Her scholarship has been covered by media outlets such as The New York Times and the American Bar Association Journal, and has been cited by both federal and state courts.
Following law school, Varsava served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Supreme Court of Colorado.
Scholarship & Publications
SSRN
Law Repository
Research Interests
- Legal Theory
- Procedural Justice
- Law and Language
- Judges and Courts
- Legal Ethics
- Bioethics and Health Law
Activities
Nina Varsava became an affiliate professor of the UW–Madison Philosophy Department in September 2024.
Nina Varsava presented "Stare Decisis, Egregious Error and Imaginative Resistance" during an online Legal Philosophy Discussion Group hosted by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Brazil, Sept. 10, 2024.
Nina Varsava presented "Stare Decisis, Egregious Error and Imaginative Resistance" during an American Association of Legal and Social Philosophy Online Workshop Sept. 13, 2024.
Nina Varsava's paper, "Opinion Authorship and Precedential Status" was published in the Washington University Law Review in July 2024. Read the paper.
Nina Varsava presented "Reconstructing Precedent" during the Interpretivism and its Critics Conference at Oxford University on June 6, 2024.
Nina Varsava published "The Moral Practice Picture of Law" in JOTWELL on Jan. 29, 2024.
Nina Varsava presented "Precedent as a Moral Practice" during a book symposium on “Law is a Moral Practice” by Scott Hershovitz, hosted by the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México on Jan. 26, 2024.
Nina Varsava was elected to the Executive Board of the American Association of Legal and Social Philosophy on Nov. 13, 2023.
Nina Varsava presented "Reconstructing Precedent" during the Cambridge Legal Theory Discussion Group, an online workshop series, on Nov. 9, 2023.
Nina Varsava presented "Precedent, Reliance, and Dobbs" during the Stanford Law School Public Law Seminar on Oct. 30, 2023.
Nina Varsava presented "Reconstructing Precedent" during the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México Jurisprudence Seminar (online) on Oct. 13, 2023.
Nina Varsava posted "Judicial Dark Matter" to SSRN. The paper is forthcoming in the University of Chicago Law Review and is scheduled to be published in Fall 2024. Read the paper.
Nina Varsava's article "Precedent, Reliance, and Dobbs" was cited in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc. v. Reynolds ex rel. State, No. 22-2036, 2023 WL 4635932, at *8 (Iowa June 16, 2023).
Nina Varsava presented "Reconstructing Precedent" during the AALS Jurisprudence Section Junior Scholars Workshop on Aug. 4, 2023.
Nina Varsava presented "Opinion Authorship and Precedential Status" during the University of Michigan Law and Economics Workshop on April 13, 2023.
News & Media
Thursday, May 9, 2024Nina Varsava, Tonya Brito Honored With Vilas Professorships and Awards
UW-Madison NewsFriday, Feb 17, 2023Nina Varsava Awarded AALS Jurisprudence Future Promise Award
Friday, Feb 10, 2023Nina Varsava Discusses the Value of Reliance in the Law
The Jurisprudes PodcastFriday, Jul 8, 2022Nina Varsava Discusses Dobbs Decision, Supreme Court's Stare Decisis Jurisprudence
New Hampshire Public RadioFriday, Jun 17, 2022Nina Varsava Discusses Approach to Stare Decisis in the Leaked Dobbs Draft Opinion
Civics 101 PodcastTuesday, Jun 7, 2022Nina Varsava Discusses Supreme Court, Horizontal Stare Decisis in Dobbs Leak
Civics 101 PodcastTuesday, Feb 1, 2022Nina Varsava comments on Ninth Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke’s writings
Bloomberg LawThursday, Aug 12, 2021Nina Varsava discusses fractured Supreme Court opinions in light of Marks v. United States
'Dissenting Opinions'Friday, Jul 23, 2021Forthcoming article by Nina Varsava reviewed
JotwellThursday, Jul 1, 2021Nina Varsava discusses professional irresponsibility and judicial opinions
Emphasis AddedFriday, Jul 17, 2020Nina Varsava discusses her essay "Precedent on Precedent" and the Supreme Court ruling in Ramos v. Louisiana
Ipse DixitTuesday, Nov 26, 2019New faculty focus: Nina Varsava
Monday, Nov 18, 2019UW Law graduates, faculty receive Order of the Coif honors
Wednesday, Aug 14, 2019Professor Nina Varsava joins UW Law School faculty
Teaching Areas
- Civil Procedure
- Conflict of Laws
- Ethics & Professional Responsibilities
- Federal Jurisdiction
- Jurisprudence