Jeffrey Bain Faculty Scholar and
Professor of Law

• Constitutional Law II
• Population Law Seminar
• Comparative Constitutional Law
• International Art Law

B.G.S. with honors 1974 University of Michigan.
J.D. 1979 University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall).

Professor Abrams worked in Washington, D.C., for the Executive Office of the President, Council on Wage and Price Stability, and later as an attorney for the Office of Legal and Enforcement Counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to private practice she has served as executive director of both the Oregon Judicial Fitness Commission and the Oregon Commission on the Judicial Branch and has published in the area of constitutional law, particularly reproductive rights. Abrams also is interested in population policy. She has published articles on the human rights implications of population policies and on the relationship between population, sustainability, and human rights.  Recent articles by Professor Paula Abrams include “We the People and Other Constitutional Tales: Teaching Constitutional Meaning Through Narrative,” published in The Law Teacher, “The Majority Will: A Case Study of Misinformation, Manipulation, and the Oregon Initiative Process,” published in the Oregon Law Review and, “The Reasonable Believer: Faith, Formalism, and Endorsement of Religion,” forthcoming in the Lewis & Clark Law Review.  Professor Abrams has written a book on the landmark Supreme Court Case, “Pierce v. Society of Sisters.”  The book, Cross Purposes, was released by the University of Michigan Press in November 2009. In 2009, Professor Abrams was named Jeffrey Bain Faculty Scholar in recognition of her exemplary teaching and scholarship.