MettaSutta Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I'm a recent JD grad, currently clerking for a judge (two years). Legal academia, particularly clinical legal teaching, would be my dream job. Would getting an L.L.M./Ph.D./S.J.D. in law help towards obtaining such a position?I was an OK but not great student in my JD program, and I know that hiring for academia can be very elitist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entangled Phantoms Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 The folks at top-law-schools.com should be able to answer that question. MettaSutta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boolakanaka Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Depends where you want to teach? This early in your career, unless you went to a T14 school with stellar credentials, then you are not going to get much interest from law schools —and this assumes you are already well published. Here is some background:https://www.law.uchicago.edu/careerservices/pathstolawteaching or https://law.utexas.edu/career/paths/academic/advice-on-becoming-a-law-professor/ or http://www.leiterrankings.com/jobs/2009job_teaching.shtml MettaSutta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MettaSutta Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 9 hours ago, Boolakanaka said: Depends where you want to teach? This early in your career, unless you went to a T14 school with stellar credentials, then you are not going to get much interest from law schools —and this assumes you are already well published. Here is some background:https://www.law.uchicago.edu/careerservices/pathstolawteaching or https://law.utexas.edu/career/paths/academic/advice-on-becoming-a-law-professor/ or http://www.leiterrankings.com/jobs/2009job_teaching.shtml Thanks! I am interested in non-tenure track positions (i.e. teaching in clinics or skills based courses)...is hiring for these less prestige-obsessed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boolakanaka Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 I would say it really depends—say you were the clinic director for natural resources or family justice, most of the folks who run such programs have substantial practice experience (e.g. 10 years plus) in their respective fields. So, you do not necessarily have to have the same stellar academic credentials as a tenured law professor, but there is certainly an expectation that you bring significant real world experience in the area of practice. MettaSutta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MettaSutta Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 On 7/16/2018 at 12:53 PM, Boolakanaka said: I would say it really depends—say you were the clinic director for natural resources or family justice, most of the folks who run such programs have substantial practice experience (e.g. 10 years plus) in their respective fields. So, you do not necessarily have to have the same stellar academic credentials as a tenured law professor, but there is certainly an expectation that you bring significant real world experience in the area of practice. Thanks! That seems like a more realistic goal (after several years of practice, that is) than TT prof positions at law schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesthete Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I'd also consider looking at fellowships through clinics, it could help in terms of connections to clinical directors. At my school, there's at least one fellow that's hired for our asylum clinic. It could offer a good in, especially since you graduated so recently. I was also on the hiring committee for our legal writing professors, and the two people we ended up hiring didn't have a ton of teaching experience. I think both of them worked for law firms and may have taught legal writing and research skills to their associates. If I recall correctly, they didn't have degrees from T-14 schools. Hope this is somewhat helpful! MettaSutta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MettaSutta Posted August 31, 2018 Author Share Posted August 31, 2018 On 7/25/2018 at 1:11 PM, aesthete said: I'd also consider looking at fellowships through clinics, it could help in terms of connections to clinical directors. At my school, there's at least one fellow that's hired for our asylum clinic. It could offer a good in, especially since you graduated so recently. I was also on the hiring committee for our legal writing professors, and the two people we ended up hiring didn't have a ton of teaching experience. I think both of them worked for law firms and may have taught legal writing and research skills to their associates. If I recall correctly, they didn't have degrees from T-14 schools. Hope this is somewhat helpful! Are the clinical fellowships you mentioned entry-level positions? (I'm a 2017 law grad). Are the fellows normally hired permanently at the end of the 1-2 year term? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now