William J. Novak
William J. Novak is the Charles F. and Edith J. Clyne Professor of Law at the University of Michigan and an award-winning legal scholar and historian.
His research and teaching focus on legal history, legislation, regulation, and the development of the modern American regulatory state.
Through his work, including The People's Welfare, Novak has challenged conventional historical narratives about American governance, demonstrating how early American society was characterized by extensive local and state regulatory powers rather than pure laissez-faire individualism.
His scholarship examines the transformation of American legal structures from colonial times through the emergence of modern constitutional law and federal administrative agencies.
