Richard Briffault

Richard Briffault is the Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation at Columbia Law School, a role he has held since 1983. He specializes in constitutional law, administrative law, and public policy, with a focus on state and local government, campaign finance regulation, government ethics, and election administration. Briffault is a leading expert on 'the new preemption,' analyzing how state laws increasingly override local ordinances. He has advised city and county officials on navigating state preemption challenges through his work with the Local Solutions Support Center.

Briffault has served three terms as Vice Dean and currently sits on the advisory boards of the Max Berger ’71 Public Interest Fellows Program and the Columbia Journal of Law & Social Problems. His prolific scholarship includes over 90 articles, books like Dollars and Democracy, and co-authoring the seminal State and Local Government Law casebook through its 9th edition.

His career spans legal practice, government service, and academia. Before joining Columbia, he clerked for Judge Shirley M. Hufstedler and worked as an attorney for the New York State Moreland Act Commission. He has held key roles in New York’s public integrity system, including chairing the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board (2014–2020) and advising the American Law Institute’s Project on Principles of Government Ethics.

Briffault’s research and teaching emphasize the intersection of law and democracy, including electoral integrity, legislative processes, and the evolving dynamics of federalism. His recent work addresses pandemic-era election adaptations, state-local power conflicts, and the ethical dimensions of political financing.