Annual Koch Administrative Law Forum Examines the Fate of Chevron Deference
On February 26, 2024, The Institute of Bill of Rights Law hosted the Professor Charles Koch Administrative Law Forum. In the past, it is fair to say administrative law has not ranked among the “greatest hits” of law school subjects for most, but this year’s event attracted standing-room-only crowds. Professor Allison Larsen, director of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law, joked with the audience that “administrative law is so hot right now.” 
The panelists at the Forum included Andrew J. Pincus—a partner at Mayer Brown and a member of the Supreme Court’s Rules of Practice and Procedure Committee—and Kristin Hickman, Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Pincus and Hickman were joined on the panel by Larsen and Aaron-Andrew Bruhl, who both teach administrative law at William & Mary.
The subject of the forum this year was “RIP Chevron?”—a discussion on a case pending at the Supreme Court seeking the end of Chevron deference.
Chevron is an administrative law doctrine dating back to 1984 that instructs courts to defer to a reasonable agency interpretation of a statute when the language of the statute is not clear.
The panelists discussed the arguments for and against the continuation of Chevron deference, the stakes should the case be overturned, and predictions for what is likely to happen in the future.
The annual Administrative Law Forum is held in honor of Professor Charles H. Koch, Jr., a faculty member and administrative law professor at William & Mary Law School for more than 30 years before his passing in 2012.
Today, Professor Koch’s legacy is furthered by his wife, Denise Koch, who with her son Andrew created the annual forum and provided words of welcome at the event. Mrs. Koch is an educator, a devoted Williamsburg community member, and creator of the Koch Endowment, which provides Koch Summer International Scholarships to law students. In November 2021, she was invested as an honorary alumna, a recognition given to select individuals for their extraordinary support and friendship to the Law School.
About the Koch Administrative Law Forum
Charles H. Koch was a national leader in the field of administrative law. The breadth of his work included authoring the multi-volume treatise on administrative law, Administrative Law and Practice. Professor Koch held several leadership positions in the Administrative Law section of the Association of American Law Schools and was active with the administrative law bar. His passion for Administrative Law lead to an interest in the European Union, as he foresaw its growing global importance in the legal environment and domestic law.
The Koch Administrative Law Forum grew out of an Administrative Law Symposium honoring Professor Koch in March 2013. Subsequent forums have examined “Administrative Agencies under the Trump Administration” (2017), “President Trump and the Administrative State” (2019), “Administrative Law in Transition: Changes to Expect in the Biden Administration” (2021), and “The Vaccine Mandate & Administrative Law” (2022).