Jim Chen is an American
legal scholar known for his expertise in
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...
. He holds the Justin Smith Morrill Chair in Law
at
Michigan State University College of Law
The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the fi ...
. From 2007 to 2012, he served as the dean of the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
Brandeis School of Law.
Education
Chen received his B.A. and M.A. from
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
in 1987.
Following his studies at the
University of Iceland
The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...
as a
Fulbright Scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, he earned his
J.D., magna cum laude, from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
, where he was executive editor of the ''
Harvard Law Review
The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...
''.
Chen is fluent in
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
and French, among other languages.
Career
After law school, Chen
clerked for federal judge
Michael Luttig on the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maryland
...
and for Justice
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...
of the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
.
Chen was a professor of law at the
University of Minnesota Law School from 1993 to 2007.
While at Minnesota he taught in the areas of
administrative law
Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...
, agricultural law, constitutional law, economic regulation,
environmental law
Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...
, industrial policy, legislation and statutory interpretation, and natural resources law. Chen was active in Minnesota's
law journals
A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pr ...
as an editor of th
Constitutional Commentaryand of the ''
Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology
The ''Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology'' is a biannual law review edited by students and faculty from the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, t ...
'', as well being as an advisor for the
Theatre of the Relatively Talentless
The Theatre of the Relatively Talentless (TORT) is a student theatrical company that puts on musicals and other performances written, produced, directed and performed by law students of the University of Minnesota Law School. TORT is a campus l ...
during its first four years.
In late 2006, Chen was named as the new dean of the Brandeis School of Law. He served in that position until 2012
when he was appointed as Professor at Michigan State. Along with
Frank H. Wu
Frank H. Wu () is president of Queens College, City University of New York. He is an American law professor and author who served as the William L. Prosser Distinguished Professor at UC Hastings. He previously served as Chancellor & Dean, rece ...
at
Wayne State University Law School
Wayne State University Law School (Wayne Law) is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), ...
,
Harold Hongju Koh
Harold Hongju Koh (born December 8, 1954) is an American lawyer and legal scholar who served as the legal adviser of the Department of State in the Obama administration. He was nominated to this position by President Barack Obama on March 23, 20 ...
at
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
, and
Wallace Loh
Wallace Dao-kui Loh ( zh, c=陸道逵, p=Lù Dàokuí; born 1946) was the president of the University of Maryland, College Park, a position assumed November 1, 2010. He retired from the presidency on June 30, 2020 and was succeeded by Darryl ...
at the
University of Washington School of Law
The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington.
The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...
, Chen is one of four
Asian Americans
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
who have held the post of dean at an American law school.
Chen is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has served since 2010 as a public member of the
Administrative Conference of the United States.
Scholarship and teaching
Chen teaches constitutional law, regulatory state, and upper-level electives such as agriculture law. He has taught law around the world, including at
Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf Heinrich may refer to:
People
* Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
in
Düsseldorf, Germany, the
University of Nantes
The University of Nantes (french: Université de Nantes) is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire a ...
in
Nantes, France, and at
Slovak University of Agriculture
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra is a public university in Nitra, Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is borde ...
in
Nitra,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. He writes on the inter-relatedness of mathematics, complexity theory, linguistics, and behavior psychology a
Jurisdynamicsand manage
Law Blog Central a sister site to ''Jurisdynamics'' that also previews other law professor blogs.
Selected works
Articles
*
*
*
*
*
Books and book chapters
*
*
See also
*
List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 10)
References
External links
Professor Chen's published articles on various legal topicsProfessor Chen's Blog, Jurisdynamics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Jim
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Harvard Law School alumni
American legal scholars
University of Minnesota faculty
University of Minnesota Law School faculty
American people of Taiwanese descent
University of Louisville faculty
Emory University alumni
University of Iceland alumni
Academic staff of the University of Nantes
American academics of Chinese descent
Law clerks of J. Michael Luttig
Fulbright alumni