Elizabeth Emens JD, Ph.D.

About

Elizabeth Emens, JD, Ph.D., is an Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. She earned her JD and BA from Yale University and her Ph.D. in English from King’s College, Cambridge.

She is the author of Life Admin: How I Learned to Do Less, Do It Better, and Live More, which was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on January 1, 2019—and in the UK by Viking as The Art of Life Admin: How to Do Less, Do Better, and Live More.

Emens has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, Hastings Center Report, Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Nomos, Narrative, The Disability Studies Reader, Keywords in Disability Studies, and many others. In 2013, she co-edited a volume on Disability and Equality Law with Michael Ashley Stein (Ashgate Press).

Photo Credit: Nina Subin

Books by Elizabeth Emens JD, Ph.D.

Recent Posts

Giving the Gift of COVID Admin

Have you spent hours laboring to get a vaccine appointment for a loved one? You're not alone.

Sheltering in Place Is Not a Writer's Retreat

Is this a wildly creative and productive time for you? If the answer is no, you are not alone. But there's hope.

Back to School Forms: Who's Doing Them?

It’s the time of year for school forms. Let’s give some respect to the Doers—and some gratitude to the Rebels.

On Being Kind and Knowing Your Mind at the Help Desk

How do you handle difficult customer service interactions? Do you yell, cry, tell them you’re a lawyer/cop/boxer? An affiliative approach has research support—and human value.

Phone-Shaming and Admin Compassion

We can judge each other harshly for our device use. Seeing the invisible labor of life offers a better way.

Let’s Talk About Privilege

Someone else’s admin is probably way worse than yours—but yours still counts.

Borrowing from What We Love for What We Don’t

Avoiding some challenging "life admin?" Try borrowing ideas and energy from an activity you enjoy.

Ideas from Readers: New Ways to Use Admin Study Halls

Looking for some gentle accountability to help you get things done? Try these ideas.

Favorite Stories from Life Admin Talks: Aging-Parents Admin

So many people have told beautiful stories about recognizing the invisible labor their loved ones perform—like caring for aging parents.

OOO: Ode to the Out-of-Office AutoReply for Personal Email

Looking for some freedom this July 4th? Try an OOO to let people know you're away, like really away, from email.