Russell Powell

Russell Powell

Professor of Law, Fr. John Topel S.J. Endowed Scholar, and SJD Program Director

 Sullivan Hall 416

 206-398-4198

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AREAS OF EXPERTISE

  • Business Entities
  • Comparative Law: The Middle East
  • Corporate Governance
  • Law and Religion

EDUCATION

  • B.A., cum laude, Near Eastern History, Harvard College
  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law
  • M.A., Social Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago
  • Ph.D., Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Washington

Biography

Dr. Powell is the Fr. Topel, SJ Endowed Scholar, Professor of Law, and SJD Program Director at Seattle University School of Law. His main areas of research are law and religion (with particular interests in Catholic social thought and Islamic legal theory) and corporate law. His most recent scholarship has explored comparative constitutionalism, originalism, secularism, and ethical corporate governance. He has served as the Chair of both the AALS Section on Islamic Law and the Islamic Law Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association. He was formerly the Chair of the Conference on Catholic Legal Thought. Dr. Powell was a corporate associate at Coudert Brothers and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department. He has graduate degrees in philosophy, law, and Near Eastern studies. He reads and speaks a number of languages including Arabic, Turkish and Farsi. 

Publications