Shauhin Talesh
Professor of Law
By courtesy, Professor of Sociology and Criminology, Law & Society
Director, Law and Graduate Studies Program
Faculty Athletic Representative, UCI Athletics
General Editor, Law & Society Review
Advisory Board Member and Faculty Affiliate, Center in Law, Society & Culture
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Organizational Research
Faculty Affiliate, Long U.S.-China Institute for Business & Law
Director, Law and Graduate Studies Program
Faculty Athletic Representative, UCI Athletics
General Editor, Law & Society Review
Advisory Board Member and Faculty Affiliate, Center in Law, Society & Culture
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Organizational Research
Faculty Affiliate, Long U.S.-China Institute for Business & Law
Expertise:
Civil procedure, consumer law, insurance, organizations, empirical legal studies, law and society, law and inequality, law and social change
Background:
Professor Talesh is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work spans law, sociology, and political science. His research interests include the empirical study of law and business organizations, dispute resolution, consumer protection, insurance, and the relationship between law and social inequality. Professor Talesh is considered one of the leading scholars on organizational responses to law and compliance and the relationship between insurance, regulation and inequality.
Talesh’s empirical research addresses the intersection between organizations, risk, and consumer protection laws, focusing on private organizations' responses to and constructions of laws designed to regulate them, consumers' mobilization of their legal rights and the legal cultures of private organizations. His most recent research focuses on how cyber insurance and insurance companies shape cybersecurity and privacy law compliance among private organizations. He previously published multiple articles on how insurance companies, through employment practice liability insurance, construct the meaning of compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
Talesh has channeled his interdisciplinary approach to UC Irvine. Since 2014, he has served as Director of the Law & Graduate Studies Program. In that role, he advises all concurrent degree students, with special attention to those pursuing a JD and PhD simultaneously. He is also a co-founding member of the Law, Society and Culture Emphasis program.
Professor Talesh’s prominence as a scholar has led to elected and appointed leadership positions in national organizations. He Chaired the Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in 2020-21. In 2019-20, he served as Chair-Elect and Program Chair at the ASA Annual Meeting, and he previously served as elected Secretary/Treasurer of the section 2017-2019. He was also elected Chair of the American Association of Law School’s Insurance Law Section in 2019, after previously serving as elected Secretary, Treasurer, and Chair-Elect. From 2018-2020, he served on the Editorial Board for Law & Social Inquiry.
In 2019, Professor Talesh was selected for the inaugural class of UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation Faculty Innovation Fellows, a program established “to recognize faculty who have a record of translating their society-impacting research as well as to make them ambassadors for UCI’s innovation culture.” In 2022, Professor Talesh was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF). Membership is limited to just one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Members are nominated by their peers and selected by the ABF Board. The ABF Fellows is a global honorary society that recognizes attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities. ABF Fellows hail from nearly 40 countries and hold a wide variety of influential roles. In spring, 2022, Professor Talesh was named the William T. Barker Distinguished Visiting Professor of Insurance Law at UC Berkeley Law School. He has also been a Visiting Professor at Sciences-Po, Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies, in Paris, France.
Talesh’s scholarship has appeared in multiple law and peer-reviewed social science journals including Law and Society Review, Law & Social Inquiry, and Law & Policy, and has won multiple awards in Sociology, Political Science and Law & Society.
Talesh regularly teaches Procedural Analysis, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Law, and Insurance Law & Policy. He was elected by UCI Law Students 1L Professor of the Year in 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
(Log in to view full course descriptions in the UCI Law Course Catalog)
Book:
- Shauhin Talesh, Research Handbook on Modern Legal Realism, (with E. Mertz & H. Klug) (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 2021)
Publications:
- Shauhin Talesh and Spencer L. Levitt, A Mile Wide but an Inch Deep: Pervasive Racism in International Football, Symbolic Compliance, and a Substantive Path Forward, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change, vol. 27, no. 3, 2024, pp. 131–182.
- Shauhin Talesh, Surety bonds and the role of insurance companies as regulators in the context of Brazilian infrastructure projects, Revista de Direito Administrativo (Journal of Administrative Law), Vol. 282: 63-107 (2023) (with Pericles Goncalves Filho).
- Shauhin Talesh, Cyber Insurance and Cybersecurity Policy: An Interconnected History, Book Review of Josephine Wolff, “Cyberinsurance Policy: Rethinking Risk in an Age of Ransomware, Computer Fraud, Data Breaches, and Cyberattacks, Lawfare," Nov. 4, 2022
- Shauhin Talesh, Comments to Potential Federal Insurance Response to Catastrophic Cyber Incidents posted by the Department of the Treasury on Sept. 28, 2022 (with Bryan Cunningham).
- Shauhin Talesh, Uncle Sam RE: Improving Cyber Hygiene and Increasing Confidence in the Cyber Insurance Ecosystem via Government Backstopping, 28 University of Connecticut Insurance Law Journal 1-84 (2022) (with Bryan Cunningham).
- Shauhin Talesh, The Technologization of Insurance: An Empirical Analysis of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Cybersecurity and Privacy, 5 Utah L. Rev. 967-1027 (2021) (with Bryan Cunningham).
- Shauhin Talesh, Planet of the Insurers: How Insurers Shape and Influence Law and Impact Access to Justice, in Research Handbook on Modern Legal Realism, eds S. Talesh, E. Mertz, & H. Klug, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK (2021).
- Shauhin Talesh, Introduction to the Research Handbook on Modern Legal Realism, in Research Handbook on Modern Legal Realism, eds S. Talesh, E. Mertz, & H. Klug, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK (2021) (with E. Mertz & H. Klug).
- Shauhin Talesh, Public Law and Regulatory Theory, in Handbook on Theories of Governance (2nd Edition), C. Ansell & J. Torfing, eds. Edward Elgar (forthcoming 2021) (peer edited).
- Shauhin Talesh, Constructing the Content and Meaning of Law and Compliance, in Cambridge Handbook on Compliance, eds D. Sokol & B. van Rooij, Cambridge Univ. Press (2021) (peer review).
- Shauhin Talesh, Transition Coverage and Clarity in Self-Insured Corporate Health Insurance Benefit Plans, Transgender Health, DOI: 10.1089/trgh.2020.0067 (2020) (with A. Kirkland & A. Perone).
- Shauhin Talesh, The Devil is in the Details: How Arbitration System Design and Training Facilitate and Inhibit Repeat Player Advantages in Private and State-Run Arbitration Hearings, 42 Law & Policy 315-343 (2020) (with Peter Alter) (lead article).
- Shauhin Talesh, How Legal Intermediaries Facilitate and Inhibit Social Change, 79 Studies in Law, Politics & Society 111-45 (2019) (with Jerome Pelisse).
- Shauhin Talesh, The Process is the Problem, in R. Greenspan, H. Aviram, & J. Simon, eds., The Legal Process and the Promise of Justice: Studies Inspired by the Work of Malcolm Feeley, Cambridge Studies in Law & Society, pp. 72-94, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press (2019).
- Shauhin Talesh, Data Breach, Privacy, and Cyber Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as "Compliance Managers" for Businesses, 43 Law & Soc. Inquiry 417-440 (2018)
- Shauhin Talesh, Public law and regulatory theory, in Handbook on Theories of Governance 102 (Christopher Ansell & Jacob Torfing eds., 2017)
- Shauhin Talesh, Insurance Companies as Corporate Regulators: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, 66 DePaul L. Rev. 463-501 (2017)
- Shauhin Talesh, Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Anti-Discrimination Laws,37 Law & Pol'y 209-39 (2015) (peer review)
- Shauhin Talesh, Rule-Intermediaries in Action: How State and Business Stakeholders Influence the Meaning of Consumer Rights in Regulatory Governance Arrangements,37 Law & Pol'y 1-31 (2015) (peer review) (lead article)
- Shauhin Talesh, Insurance and the Law,International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Science, 2nd edition, Vol. 12. Oxford: Elsevier 215-220 (2015) (peer edited)
- Shauhin Talesh, Institutional and Political Sources of Legislative Change: Explaining How Private Organizations Influence the Form and Content of Consumer Protection Legislation,39 Law & Soc. Inquiry 973-1005 (2014) (peer review)
- Shauhin Talesh, The Privatization of Public Legal Rights: How Manufacturers Construct the Meaning of Consumer Law, in The Law and Society Reader II (Erik Larson & Patrick Schmidt eds., NY Press) (2014)
- Shauhin Talesh, Foreword: Why Marc Galanter’s ‘Haves’ Article is One of the Most Influential Pieces of Legal Scholarship Ever Written, in Marc Galanter, Why the Haves Come Out Ahead (Quid Pro Books, 2014)
- Shauhin Talesh, How the ‘Haves’ Come Out Ahead in the Twenty-First Century,62 DePaul L. Rev. 519 (2013) (invited submission for Clifford Symposium, honoring the work of Marc Galanter)
- Shauhin Talesh, How Dispute Resolution System Design Matters: An Organizational Analysis of Dispute Resolution Structures and Consumer Lemon Laws,46 Law & Society Rev. 463 (2012) (lead article)
- Shauhin Talesh, Insurance Law as Public Interest Law,2 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 985 (2012)
- Lauren Edelman & Shauhin Talesh, To Comply or Not to Comply – That Isn’t the Question: How Organizations Construct the Meaning of Compliance, in Explaining Compliance (Christine Parker & Vibeke Nielsen eds., Edward elgar) (2012)
- Shauhin Talesh, The Privatization of Public Legal Rights: How Manufacturers Construct the Meaning of Consumer Law,43 Law & Society Rev. 527-562(2009)
- Shauhin Talesh, Mental Health Court Judges as 'Dynamic Risk Managers': A New Conceptualization of the Role of Judges, 57 DePaul L. Rev. 93-132 (2007)
- Shauhin Talesh, Breaking the Learned Helplessness of Patients: Why MCOs Should be Required to Disclose Financial Incentives, 26 Univ. of Ala. L. & Psychol. Rev. 49-95 (2002)
- Shauhin Talesh, Welfare Migration to Capture Higher Welfare Benefits: Fact or Fiction?, 32 Conn. L. Rev. 675-716 (2000)
- Shauhin Talesh, Parole Officers and the Exclusionary Rule: Is There Any Deterrent Left?, 31 Conn. L. Rev. 1179-1216 (1999)
- October 2024
Talk on “New Legalism and Legal Education,” closing remarks and panel moderation at the Widening the Lens of Justice Conference, hosted by Harvard Law’s Center on the Legal Profession and the American Bar Foundation - October 2024
Speaker, “New Legal Realism and Legal Education”; Moderator, “NLR & Legal Education II: Pluralizing Professional Identities and Purposes”; and Speaker, Closing Remarks at the conference, Widening the Lens of Justice: A 20th Anniversary New Legal Realism Conference on Inclusion, 'Bleached Out' Identity, and Ethics in Legal Education, Harvard Law School - September 2023:
Presenter, Insurance and Reinsurance Innovation Institute, “Thematic Debate on Cyber Insurance", FGV Rio School of Law - September 2023:
Presenter, 38th Hemispheric Insurance Conference – FIDES Rio 2023, hosted by The National Confederation of Insurance Companies (CNseg) and Inter-American Federation of Insurance Companies, Rio de Janeiro - June 2023:
Presenter, “The Technologization of Insurance: An Empirical Analysis of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Cybersecurity and Privacy,” Committee on Insurance and Pension Regulation, Insurance Institute, FGV Direito Rio School of Law. - June 2023:
Presenter, “Publishing in Socio-Legal Friendly Journals: Meet the Editors and Get Advice on Publishing,” Law and Society Association Annual Meeting. - June 2023:
Presenter, “Addressing inequality issues in the peer-reviewed publishing world,” Law and Society Association Annual Meeting - February 2023:
Presenter, “The Technologization of Insurance: An Empirical Analysis of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Cybersecurity and Privacy,” British Insurance Law Association, (invited). - February 2023
Presenter, “A Theoretically-Informed Empirical Research Approach Toward Studying Law,” University of Wisconsin, Madison, School of Law, Faculty Development Workshop Series on How to Study Law (invited). - Feb 14, 2023:
A Theoretically-Informed Empirical Research Approach Toward Studying Law, Faculty Development Workshop at the Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison School of Law - Oct. 18, 2021:
Featured Speaker, “The Technologization of Insurance: An Empirical Analysis of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Cybersecurity and Privacy,” Berkeley Law, Online - July 14, 2021:
Panelist, “The New Legal Realism Project: Translating Social Science for Real-World Law,” American Bar Foundation, Online - March 12, 2021:
Panelist, The Role of Cyber Insurers in Promoting Cyber Security, The Role of Law and Government in Cyber Insurance Markets: A Cyber Cyber Insurance Conference, University of Connecticut Insurance Law Center, Online - March 5, 2021:
Presenter, “Health Insurance and Transgender Patient Access to Health Care: Barriers, Work-Arounds, and the Social Construction of Medical Necessity,” 3rd Annual Consumer Law Scholars Conference, Berkeley Law Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, Online - Feb. 11, 2021:
Guest Speaker, Beyond Insurance – How Managed Security and Technology are Redefining How Insurance Operates in Society, Sociotechnical Cybersecurity Interest Group, University of Maryland College of Information Studies, Online - Feb. 22, 2019:
Presenter, “The Hidden Curriculum of Arbitrator Training: A Comparative Analysis of Private and State-Run Arbitration Hearings,” Consumer Law Scholars Conference, Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, Berkeley Law, Berkeley, CA - Jan. 5, 2019:
Moderator, Insurance Law, Co-Sponsored by Law and the Social Sciences, 2019 AALS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA - April 9, 2018:
Speaker, “Have Changes in Procedural Rules Made Substantive Relief in Federal Courts Problematic?” Civil Justice Research Initiative 2018 Inaugural Symposium: What’s Happening in Federal Court? Recent Findings and Research Strategies for the Future, Berkeley Law, Berkeley, CA - March 30, 2018:
Baldy Distinguished Speaker, “How legal Intermediaries Facilitate and Inhibit Social Change,” Faculty Workshop, University of Buffalo School of Law, Buffalo, NY - March 20, 2018:
Presenter, Cyber Risk Insurance: How to Live With It because You Can No Longer Live Without It, The Cove at UCI, Irvine, CA - Jan. 5, 2018:
Speaker. Data Breach, Privacy and Cyber Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as “Compliance Managers” for Businesses, Association of American Law Schools Annual Conference, San Diego, CA. - June 29, 2017:
Co-Presenter, “How Legal Intermediaries Facilitate or Inhibit Social Change,” Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics 29th Annual Meeting, Lyon, France - June 26, 2017:
Presenter, “Data Breach, Privacy and Cyber Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” Sciences Po LIEPP interdisciplinary research center for public policy evaluation, Paris, France - Feb. 22, 2017:
Presenter, “Data Breach, Privacy & Cyber Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” American Bar Foundation, Chicago, Illinois - Jan. 30, 2017:
Presenter, “Data Breach, Privacy & Cyber Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” Center for the Study of Law & Society, UC Berkeley Law - October 2016:
Invited Speaker, “Data Breach, Privacy and Cyber Liability Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” University of Minnesota Faculty Workshop - September 2016:
Invited Speaker, “Data Breach, Privacy and Cyber Liability Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” University of California, Hastings Faculty Workshop - September 2016:
Guest Speaker, Strategies for Success on the Law Job Market, UC Berkeley Workshop: Going on the Law Job Market, UC Berkeley - August 2016:
Speaker, Professionalism in Law School and the Legal Profession, UCI Law Student Development Workshop, UC Irvine - June 2016:
Invited Speaker, “Data Breach, Privacy, and Cyber Liability Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, UC Berkeley - June 2016:
Presenter, Author meets Reader: Jeb Barnes & Thomas F. Burke, “How Policy Shapes Politics,” Law and Society Association, New Orleans, LA - June 2016:
Invited Speaker, “New Legal Realist Research: Integrating Scholarship and Teaching, Realist and Empirical Methods for Law: A Collaborative Research Network,” Law and Society Association, New Orleans, LA - April 2016:
Invited Speaker, “Data Breach, Privacy, and Cyber Liability Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” Clifford Symposium on Tort Law and Social Policy at DePaul Law School, Chicago, IL - April 2016:
Invited Speaker, “Data Breach, Privacy, and Cyber Liability Insurance: How Insurance Companies Act as ‘Compliance Managers’ for Businesses,” Drexel Law School Faculty Workshop, Philadelphia, PA - February 2016:
Panelist, “The Current State of Law & Society Research,” West Coast Law & Society Retreat, Irvine - September 2015:
Guest Speaker, “A New Institutional Theory of Insurance,” Faculty Workshop, Indiana University, Center for Law, Society & Culture, Bloomington, IN - January 2015:
Speaker, “Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Anti-Discrimination Laws,” UCI Socio–Legal Studies Workshop, UCI School of Law - January 2015:
Invited Speaker, “Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Anti-Discrimination Laws,” American Association of Law Schools Conference, Washington D.C. - November 2014:
Invited Speaker, “Manufacturing Consumer Protection Law: The Private Construction of Public Legal Rights,” UC Berkeley, Jurisprudence & Social Policy, Dissertation Colloquium, Berkeley - September 2014:
Speaker, "Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Anti-Discrimination Laws," UC Berkeley Law School Faculty Workshop - Sept. 19, 2014:
Organizer and Speaker, "Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Anti-Discrimination Laws," Conference on The Relationship Between Insurance and Legal Regulation: Normative, Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives, UCI Law - September 2014:
Invited Speaker, "Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Anti-Discrimination Laws," Rutgers Law School Center for Risk and Responsibility Insurance Law Faculty Workshop, Camden, NJ - Aug. 29–30, 2014:
Panelist, "Legal Intermediaries: How Insurance Companies Construct the Meaning of Compliance with Anti-Discrimination Laws," New Legal Realism 10th Anniversary Conference: Future Directions for Legal Empiricism, American Bar Foundation and UC Irvine School of Law, Irvine, CA - July 23, 2014:
Presenter, “The Forms and Functions of Insurance,” Orange County Bar Association, Insurance Law Section, Newport Beach, CA - April 11, 2013:
Guest Speaker, University of Pacific- McGeorge Law School - Jan. 25, 2013:
Guest Speaker, University of Wisconsin Law School - Jan. 6, 2013:
Speaker, AALS conference, Law and Social Science Panel - April 13, 2012:
Speaker, Business Law as Public Interest Law Symposium, UCI Law - Aug. 20, 2011:
Presenting Paper, “How Organizations Shape the Meaning of Law,” American Sociological Association Conference
- Association of American Law Schools, Teacher of the Year, 2022
- ABF Fellow, American Bar Foundation (2022-present)
- UC Irvine School of Law, 1L Professor of the Year, 2018-2019, 2020-2021, 2021-22
- Beall Faculty Innovation Faculty Fellow (inaugural class), UCI Beall Applied Innovation (2019-present)
- Editorial Board, Law & Social Inquiry, 2018-present
- American Sociological Association, Sociology of Law Section Chair (2020-2021) (elected)
- American Association of Law Schools, Insurance Law Section, Chair, (2019-2020) (elected)
- Visiting Scholar, Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), Paris, France, (June-July, 2017)
- American Association of Law Schools, Insurance Law Section, Chair Elect, (2018-2019) (elected)
- Elected Secretary/Treasurer, American Sociological Association, Sociology of Law Section, 2017-2019
- Distinguished Teaching Award Nominee, UC Irvine School of Law, 2013-2014; 2014-2015
- Best Graduate Student Paper, Law & Society Association, 2011
- Best Graduate Student Paper, American Sociological Association, Sociology of Law, 2011
- Best Graduate Student Paper, American Political Science Association, Law & Courts, 2010
- UC Irvine Law Leadership and Presenters at 2025 AALS Annual Meeting: “Courage in Action”
- Faculty Roundup (November 2024)
- Faculty Roundup (October 2024)
- UCI Law Leadership and Presenters at 2024 AALS Annual Meeting: “Defending Democracy”
- LawFare Podcast: Bryan Cunningham on a Federally Funded Backstop for the Cyber Insurance Ecosystem
- Professor of Law Shauhin Talesh Named Co-Editor of the Law & Society Review
- UCI Law: Prof. Talesh elected to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
- UCI ICS: Prof. Talesh is highlighted for drafting legislation to incentivize better cybersecurity
- Connecticut Insurance Law Journal: Prof. Talesh and Bryan Cunningham’s article “Uncle Sam RE: Improving Cyber Hygiene and Increasing Confidence in the Cyber Insurance Ecosystem via Government Backstopping” published
- Fellows of the American Bar Foundation: WATCH: Prof. Talesh participates in the webinar “The New Legal Realism Project: Translating Social Science for Real-World Law”
- Cybersecurity Dive: Prof. Talesh quoted on ways insurance companies can try to assist in preventing cybersecurity and data breach events
- The Conversation: Prof. Talesh’s article “Institutional and Political Sources of Legislative Change: Explaining How Private Organizations Influence the Form and Content of Consumer Protection Legislation” cited
- New University: Prof. Talesh interviewed on his role as UCI Faculty Athletic Representative and member of the Big West Undivided Committee, and UCI’s commitment to diversity and inclusion
- UCI Law: Prof. Shauhin Talesh Selected as a Faculty Innovation Fellow by UCI Beall Applied Innovation
- UCI Athletics: Prof. Talesh serves as faculty athletic representative for UCI Athletics
- Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute: Prof. Talesh part of team to receive $1.4M for research on cybersecurity, cyber insurance
- Variety: Prof. Talesh comments on civil rights laws doing “poor job” of defining harassing, discriminatory behavior
- The Washington Post: When companies buy harassment insurance, they're not protecting the victims
- Amici: Prof. Talesh interviewed in newsletter after being elected secretary/treasurer of the American Sociological Association, Sociology of Law Section
- American Bar Foundation: Prof. Talesh to present paper at American Bar Foundation event in Chicago
- UCI Stories video oral histories: Prof. Talesh and his brother Rameen Talesh, UCI Dean of Students, discuss their past and present at UCI
- UConn Law Graduate Report: Prof. Talesh featured in UConn Law alumni magazine
- ZotZine: Feature story: UCI alums Prof. Talesh and his brother, Rameen, return to alma mater to work and give back