Faculty Spotlight Lauren Roth

Professor Lauren Roth has been selected to present her work at the University of Michigan Law School’s 10th Annual Junior Scholars Conference taking place April 12-13, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The conference invited papers related to the theme of Reimagining the Public-Private Divide because of recent assertions that “the dividing legal line between the public sphere and private sphere is increasingly being blurred—or vanishing.” Professor Roth’s abstract, The Fiduciary Game, was chosen from approximately 400 applications after a peer review process. Her paper asserts that fiduciary duties do not sufficiently constrain self-interested behavior by fiduciaries who engage in public or quasi-public functions (e.g., corporate directors and pension administrators) and therefore fail to protect beneficiaries. She uses game theory to demonstrate why fiduciaries do not behave in socially desirable ways in spite of public perception.

During the conference, Professor Roth will have the opportunity to present her work and receive feedback from peers and members of the Michigan Law faculty. Scholars from a wide variety of legal disciplines will participate. The conference is considered to be one of the most prominent for junior legal scholars.

Professor Roth joined Touro Law in 2022. Her teaching and research interests include business law, health law, fiduciary law, and employee benefits. Her scholarship focuses on the role of the government and employers in American health and social welfare and how to promote equal access to and efficiency in healthcare. Professor Roth’s research reflects an interdisciplinary approach (incorporating quantitative methods, American political development, history, and public health) and utilizes a range of methodological tools.

Prior to joining the Touro Law Center, Professor Roth was an Assistant Professor of Legal Writing at St. John’s University School of Law and Associate Director of the Lawyering Program at New York University School of Law. Her publications on health law and employee benefits have been cited as “notable” in reviews of scholarly works, and she appeared on a panel broadcast on C-SPAN to discuss health reform. Professor Roth was also selected to present at Harvard Law School's 2023 Petrie-Flom Center Annual Conference.

Professor Roth graduated from Harvard Law School in 2004 and practiced employee benefits law and general litigation at Proskauer Rose and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. During law school, Roth was an editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Ph.D. from Columbia in political science, and a B.A. summa cum laude from George Washington University.