Constitutional Scholar Named to Endowed Chair in UA Law

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tara Leigh Grove will join the The University of Alabama School of Law in August as the Charles E. Tweedy, Jr. Endowed Chairholder in Law, the UA Law School announced.

Her teaching will include courses in federal courts, constitutional law, procedure, and legislation and regulation.

“Tara Grove is a nationally renowned constitutional scholar, who has made significant contributions to our understanding of the federal judiciary and the constitutional doctrines pertaining to separation of powers,” said Dr. Mark E. Brandon, dean of UA’s School of Law. “She is also an award-winning teacher. As she helps us create and build a Program in Constitutional Studies – including an Initiative for Civic Engagement – she will be a leader within the Law School and beyond.”

Grove has written extensively about the historical norms and practices that protect judicial independence; the power of government entities (including states) to bring suit in federal court; judicial decision-making and judicial legitimacy; and the interpretive principles that should govern executive orders and other presidential documents.

Grove has published with such prestigious law journals as the Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, New York University Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, Cornell Law Review and Vanderbilt Law Review.

“I am delighted to begin this new chapter of my career,” Grove said. “The faculty at the Law School has been exceptionally welcoming, and I look forward to joining this wonderful group in the fall.”

Grove graduated summa cum laude from Duke University and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she served as the Supreme Court Chair of the Harvard Law Review. She clerked for Judge Emilio Garza on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and she worked for four years as an attorney in the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she argued 15 cases in the courts of appeals.

About Alabama Law 

One of America’s leading public law schools and consistently ranked as one of the best values in legal education, The University of Alabama School of Law offers a challenging curriculum with over 150 electives, several dual enrollment opportunities, Master of Laws degrees, and a J.S.D. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6.4:1, the law school offers students a rigorous, hands-on learning experience, with strong student engagement in clinical programs, legal journals, moot court teams and trial advocacy.