James A. Rahl/Owen L. Coon Senior Research Program
The James A. Rahl/Owen L. Coon Senior Research Program gives third-year Northwestern Law students the opportunity to work closely with our renowned faculty exploring answers to challenging questions of doctrine and policy. Due to the generosity of the Owen L. Coon Foundation and other donors, there is a fund to support empirical research expenses of projects. Students are placed with supervising professors, experts in their field, to conduct research on the most pertinent current and historical legal issues.
Senior Research Rules (pdf)
Current Projects
2022-2023
| Supervising Faculty |
Student | Project Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Arimond, Bridget | Eiland, Austin | LGBTQI+ Rights in International Law: An Examination of the Impact of the Yogyakarta Principles |
| Barsa, Michael | Choi, Michael | (Title Pending) |
| Barsa, Michael | Kittelberger, Jessica | Beyond Price Controls: The Extraterritoriality Principle’s Possible Transformative Impact on Animal Welfare |
| Biehl, Julie | Hughes, Erin | Community Defense Clinics as a More Effective Model of Public Defense |
| Calabresi, Steven | Cordonnier, Bailey | In Defense of Originalism |
| DiCola, Peter | Beirne, Michael | Loss of Laches: SCOTUS Supports Strategic Suits |
| DiCola, Peter | DeVlieger, Dana | The Inconsistent Application of the Extrinsic Test in Music Copyright Cases |
| Glogower, Ari | Sethi, Jas | Private Placement Insurance has Left the "Insurance" Behind - Reconciling the Favorable Tax Treatment of PPI with its Higher Risk and Returns |
| Gowder, Paul | Cleary, Elaine | Ghost Guns: 3D Printed Firearms and the First Amendment |
| Kitrosser, Heidi | Gilligan, Brendan | Turnkey Tyranny: How NSA Databases Violate the First Amendment |
| Kleinfeld, Joshua | Bayer, Dominic | The Plain Meaning Rule and Textualism |
| Kugler, Matthew | Lee, Allison | (Title Pending) |
| Kugler, Matthew | Preminger, Alice | Right of Publicity and Deepfakes |
| Lindgren, James | Zylberberg, Daniel | Maintaining Kovel Privilege in a Corporate Transactional Setting |
| Linna Jr., Daniel | Wu, Elise | Between Promises and Pitfalls: Addressing the Potential Impact of Adopting Artificial Intelligence in the United Nation’s Agenda in Health and Human Rights |
| Llorente, Monica | Lang-Reyes, Andrew | First Generation Law Students: Tribulations & Triumphs |
| McGinnis, John | Stehle, Jared | Privatizing Antitrust: Neo-Brandeisians' Democracy Problem |
| McGinnis, John | Stippich, Grace | A Backwards-Looking Framework for Antitrust Law |
| Morgan, Jamelia | Boraz, Katharine | Justice for All: Remedies for Disability Discrimination in a Post-Cummings World |
| Pfander, James | O'Brien, Jacqueline | The Surprisingly Functional World of Territorial Jurisdiction |
| Pfander, James | Wagner, Nicholas | Quashing |
| Redish, Martin | Epstein, David | The Unitary Executive in the Age of Authoritarianism |
| Redish, Martin | Lane, Jackson | The Declaratory Judgment Act and Federal Jurisdiction |
| Reed, Stephen | Jameel, Sarah | The Future of Sustainable Fashion Law, Policy, & Business Practices |
| Sorensen, Juliet | Choi, Jeehoon | Lobbying and Bribery |
| Wang, Xiao | Bellis, Michael | Bellwether Ballots: When Direct Democracy is the Answer |
| Weinstock, Robert | Nchako, Taylor | Integrating Indigenous Water Rights into International Conservation Law |
| Zimmerman, Clifford | Desgrosseilliers, Taylor | Megadrought and Prior Appropriation: Modern Legal Approaches to Distributing Water in the West |
| Zimmerman, Clifford | Hale, Lucas | (Title Pending) |