Bijal Shah, whose research lies at the intersection of administrative law, structural constitutionalism, and critical theory, with a focus on the dynamics of immigration and interagency coordination, has joined the Boston College Law School as an associate professor and a Provost Faculty Fellow.
Bijal Shah (Allison Anne Johnson)
Shah, who was a visiting professor of law at University of California Berkeley School of Law last spring, is teaching administrative and criminal law. Previously, she was an associate professor of law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, and an acting assistant professor at New York University School of Law.
“I am thrilled to join the Boston College Law School community,” said Shah. “It’s an honor to be part of a faculty that is collegial and accomplished in equal parts, and to work with such a thoughtful and committed group of students. As a scholar of constitutional, administrative and immigration law, whose work is grounded in the realities of bureaucracy, I am excited by the Law School’s interest in and support of my data-driven, critical, and reformist approach.”
Shah’s scholarship can be found in publications such as the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Yale Journal on Regulation, and the Minnesota Law Review, among others. In addition, she is the chair emeritus of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Legislation & Law of the Political Process.
Prior to entering academia, Shah served as associate general counsel for the Department of Justice/Executive Office for Immigration Review, drafting immigration regulations and national policies on behalf of the attorney general, White House, and Congress. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Presidential Management Fellow in the Department of Homeland Security United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. She also served stints in the Department of Justice, Homeland Security headquarters, and the State Department.
Shah earned a juris doctorate from Yale Law School, a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University. While at Yale, she was senior editor of the Yale Law Journal and a Kirby Human Rights Fellow. Before entering law school, Shah was an investment banker at UBS PaineWebber.
“Given the growing enthusiasm at Boston College for diversity and inclusion, I am looking forward to applying my expertise in these areas to build institutional capacity at the Law School and beyond,” she said. “And as a native of Massachusetts, I am delighted to move my young family back home.”
“We are delighted to welcome another outstanding scholar to our faculty,” said BC Law Interim Dean Diane M. Ring, the Dr. Thomas F. Carney Distinguished Scholar. “Bijal Shah’s expertise in constitutional, administrative, and immigration law deepens our strength in these areas, and she will serve as a wonderful resource and mentor for our students.”
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | November 2022