Rakesh "Raj" Kumar Bhala (born 1962) is an Indian-American author, lawyer and professor, prominent in the fields of International Trade Law and Islamic Law (Sharia). He is a professor at the University of Kansas School of Law where he is the inaugural Leo S. Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law. Previously he had 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 has a periodic column on international law, titled "On Point," that has been published by BloombergQuint (India) (which in May 2022 was re-branded BQ Prime) since January 2017. 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