Michael Banerjee

My latest, published today by WashU Law Review Online, shows that public authorities granted over 4 million acres of land to universities like Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Michigan before and after the 1862 Morrill Act wustllawreview.org/2026/01/19/lan…

“When it was founded in 1978, JSP was the first interdisciplinary law-focused Ph.D. program in the U.S. & it continues to be the leading program of its kind anywhere,” said Professor Sarah Song, associate dean for the Jurisprudence & Social Policy Program: bit.ly/4atU5hl

Those looking to understand the relationship between trustees and professors might find our recent @CulturalCritiq1 Online roundtable on Timothy V. Kaufman-Osborn's 2023 book "The Autocratic Academy" useful: manifold.umn.edu/projects/cc129…

Very happy to be a part of a wonderful cohort of BELS fellows. Many thanks to @BerkeleyLaw and @CSLSatBerkeley

Douthat: "The federal government doesn't actually have the power to shut down Harvard University, right?" Mailman: "No, no, no." No one can shut down Harvard, except (maybe) the People of Massachusetts, who have long protected it: californialawreview.org/online/trump-h…

In case you might not have time to read the full article, I summarized it on the AAUP's Academe Blog: academeblog.org/2025/08/19/wha…

More relevant than ever: A rich essay by Adam Sitze about the long and complex legal history of university autonomy: chronicle.com/article/the-st…

It was such a pleasure working with the @CalifLRev editors on this piece!

In this short essay, published today by @CalifLRev, I argue that @Harvard should have invoked its ancient corporate rights in its recent lawsuit against the federal government. californialawreview.org/online/trump-h…

A very important piece from Adam Sitze

Intriguing article from @BerkeleyLaw JSP PhD student @MABanerjee! I'm not sure it solves all the problems, but it does open up some interesting possibilities! Great read! insidehighered.com/opinion/views/…

I argue here that if universities are to meet today's challenges, they need to understand and invoke the original basis for what we today call "academic freedom": corporate rights

As the results of a high-stakes judicial race in Wisconsin unfold, our spring alumni magazine examines whether state supreme courts are emerging as pivotal centers of legal power amid the U.S. Supreme Court’s growing deference to federalism. hls.harvard.edu/today/the-cour…

‘It Feels Empowering’: On the Road to Academia, Ph.D. Student Rachel Wallace Takes on Systemic Injustice law.berkeley.edu/article/rachel…

@bd_highsmith Many congratulations, Brian!

I’m incredibly excited to be joining the law faculty at UCLA this summer as an asst prof. I’ll be teaching state constitutional law, contracts, and a local govt seminar (on ‘Place, Race, & Power’). Feeling deeply grateful for all who have supported me along the winding path here.

I'm beyond excited that "The Shadow Docket" has received the 2024 Order of the Coif book award. Even better, I get to share the honor with one of my favorite legal historians—@BerkeleyLaw's Prof. Dylan Penningroth: orderofthecoif.org/book-award

🚨50 Constitutions Update🚨 Our latest update to 50constitutions.org adds tracking constitutional change features to 9 states! These tools allow users to explore a state's full amendment history. (Additional states coming in 2025!)

Kudos to @BerkeleyLaw/@UCBHistory Prof. Dylan Penningroth for winning TWO book prizes from the @AHAhistorians! #legalhistory

What a wonderful lecture today from @kmtani, honoring David Lieberman, under whom I was fortunate enough to study @CSLSatBerkeley

Very excited to share that the ASLH/Notre Dame Graduate Legal History Colloquium's 2024-2025 schedule is now available! Please register to attend in-person or virtually at shorturl.at/jkXXx.