At Stanford Law School, O’Connell teaches Administrative Law, Advanced Administrative Law, and Constitutional Law. The class of 2020 chose her to receive the Hurlbut Award, which is given to one professor “who strives to make teaching an art.” She co-chaired the steering committee for Stanford University’s Faculty Women’s Forum, which works to enable all women faculty to thrive, from August 2022 to January 2024 and jointly conducted two surveys on COVID’s impacts on faculty for FWF. Prior to joining Stanford University in 2018, O’Connell was the George Johnson Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. While there, she received the Distinguished Teaching Award (the campus’s most prestigious honor for teaching) in 2016 and Berkeley Law’s Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction in 2012. From April 2013 to July 2015, she served as associate dean for faculty development and research under three different deans. In 2013-2014, O’Connell was co-president of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies (co-organizing the 2014 Conference on Empirical Legal Studies).
Before joining the Berkeley Law faculty in 2004, O’Connell clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court during the October 2003 term. From 2001 to 2003, she was a trial attorney for the Federal Programs Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, receiving commendations for her work. She clerked for Judge Stephen F. Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 2000 to 2001. A Truman Scholar, O’Connell worked for a number of federal agencies in earlier years, including the Department of Defense (Offices of the General Counsel and Inspector General), Federal Trade Commission (Bureau of Competition), Department of Justice (Office of Legal Counsel), and U.S. Army (RDE). She is a member of the New York bar and served as a volunteer for the Biden-Harris Campaign’s policy team.
Necessary & Proper Episode 94: The End of Humphrey’s Executor?
Jed Shugerman, Ilan Wurman, Aram A. Gavoor
Does the President control independent agencies? This panel will examine the Trump administration’s efforts to...
Necessary & Proper Episode 95: DOGE and the Future of the Federal Workforce
Kristine I. Simmons, David A. Super, Manuel Valle, Hans A. Von Spakovsky, Ryan T. Holte
On January 20th, 2025, President Trump established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by executive...
Necessary & Proper Episode 96: The Art of Deregulation: Executive Orders and Limited Government
Bridget Dooling, Susan E. Dudley, William C. Hughes, Richard J. Pierce, Adam White
Since taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump has emphasized deregulation. Deregulatory efforts have...
Necessary & Proper Episode 97: Checks and Balances: Deregulation Based on Supreme Court Rulings
John Lewis, Jonathan Wolfson, Craig E. Leen
Among the points emphasized by the second Trump administration has been a major push for...
Necessary & Proper Episode 98: Courthouse Steps Decision: Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research
Sean Lev, Devin Watkins
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has traditionally regulated interstate and international communications and, as part...
Necessary & Proper Episode 99: Defining Antisemitism: A Debate on Free Speech and Civil Rights
William Creeley, Eugene Kontorovich, Aharon Jeffrey Friedman
Congress is currently debating the Antisemitism Awareness Act. This proposed legislation aims to provide a...
Necessary & Proper Episode 100: Legislative or Executive? The Curious Case of the Library of Congress
Anne Joseph O'Connell, Zvi Rosen, Devin Watkins, Robert J. Rando
The recent dismissal of the Librarian of Congress and the Register of Copyrights by President...
Necessary & Proper Episode 89: New Voices in Administrative Law II: The Supreme Court and Federal Court Jurisdiction
Eric Mathias Bush, Shiza Francis, Aaron Watt, Aram A. Gavoor
The development of standing jurisprudence has been inextricably intertwined with the growth of the administrative...
Third Parties and the Fourth Amendment [The FedSoc Films Podcast]
In this episode of the FedSoc Films Podcast, Amy Peikoff, Chief Policy Officer at BitChute,...