Raj Bhala

Rakesh "Raj" Kumar Bhala (born Toronto 1962 of Indian and Celtic heritage) is author, lawyer and professor, prominent in the fields of International trade law, Islamic Law (Sharia), and law and literature. He is a professor at the University of Kansas School of Law where he is the first University Distinguished Professor (UDP) at Kansas Law. His inaugural UDP lecture, delivered in September 2025, was entitled ''Deceitful Destruction of International Trade Law: America First and Xenophobic Autarky,'' and covered by media.

Previously, Bhala was the inaugural Leo S. Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law, and served as the university’s Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law (2011–2017). He is the author of leading textbooks in international trade law, among others, and of a periodic column on international law, titled “On Point,” published by BloombergQuint (India) (which in May 2022 was re-branded BQ Prime) from January 2017 through October 2022. In June 2020, Ingram’s Magazine named him as one of “50 Kansans You Should Know.” He is a member of the U.S. State Department Speaker Program, and a Fulbright Specialist in international trade law and law and literature.

On international trade, Bhala has appeared on Legal Talk Network, and On with Kara Swisher. He has been quoted by media in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong,, India, Japan, Korea,, Turkey, and the U.S.

On law and literature, Bhala was the Featured Scholar for the Humanities Kansas Big Idea Series on “East to Midwest: Asian American Perspectives in Kansas,” presenting on “From ''International Trade to Shakespeare’s Stage: Asian American Angles on Law and Literature''. Provided by Wikipedia