This contribution/invitation to Disputatio critically examines the failures of governance in the American financial system that contributed to the financial and economic crisis of 2007-2008 and the ensuing "Great Recession" that has yet to abate. The public administration has played a significant role in this disaster, and yet as a field we have given it far too little attention. There are many important lessons to learn about it, especially concerning managerial ideology and how this has contributed to the failure of governance in the financial system. The analysis here draws heavily from two Disputatio Sine Fine at UNIV OF PITTSBURGH on March 16, 2015 aas.sagepub.com Downloaded from

This article evaluates the claims of those who advocate the use of common law as a corrective to the statutory and rule-based excesses of the American administrative state. Their claims are assessed in light of common-law history and in terms of current administrative law. Although many claims are exaggerated or simply wrong, there are some aspects of common law that deserve attention in public administration. These are explained from the perspective of common-law evolution. Common law developed in a very pragmatic and experimental fashion and therefore displays some qualities public administrators will find useful, especially in the adjudicative realm of agency decisions, but more broadly as well. A model with five features of common-law practice is presented for public administrators to use in improving an agency’s decision making under law.

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