Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice

The Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice of the American Bar Association serves its members, the bar and the public at-large by providing a congenial forum to share new IDeaS and the most recent information on substantive and procedural developments in administrative law and regulatory practice. Members of the Section receive the quarterly Administrative & Regulatory Law News magazine, the quarterly Administrative Law Review, and the annual Developments in Administrative Law compendium. The Section has also published (and continues to update) numerous books that are fundamental to understanding and interacting with the federal administrative and legislative branches of government, including (among others) comprehensive treatments of agency rulemaking, federal lobbying laws and practice, and administrative adjudication, along with a sourcebook (with commentary) of the important statutes and executive orders that shape the workings of the federal bureaucracy. In addition, the Section hosts numerous educational programs during the course of the year dealing with many subjects within the scope of its jurisdiction.

The leadership of the Section includes a Chair, Chair-Elect, and Vice-Chair (each serving one-year terms), along with a twelve member Council (each of whose members serves a three year term). There are thirteen committees of the Section that focus on various aspects of the administrative and legislative processes (e.g. rulemaking, adjudication, government relations, and separation of powers) and twenty-nine committees that deal with specific substantive areas for government programs (e.g. agriculture, trade regulation, transportation, consumer protection, financial markets, etc.)

The Section serves the public at-large not only through its educational efforts, but also through the adoption of recommendations for improvement in governmental processes and programs that are acted on by the ABA's House of Delegates and, if adopted, become ABA policy. With regard to issues that require immediate attention, the Section issues (following consultation with other Sections and entities in the ABA) letters that reflect the Section's views on pending federal agency and legislative initiatives.

The Section has four meetings annually at which the Council deals with Section business. Those meetings are open to the public and interested persons are welcome to attend.

Membership in the Section is open to both attorneys and non-attorneys.

For more information on the Section and its activities, see its webpage1.