The Faculty Lounge

Hiring Announcement: Wake Forest Seeks Civ Pro VAP Apps

From our friends at Wake Forest comes this announcement:

Wake Forest University School of Law welcomes applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor (VAP) to teach Civil Procedure in the 2013-2014 academic year, and perhaps beyond.  Additional information is here.

Ave Maria Faculty Openings

Ave Maria School of Law invites applications for multiple faculty positions from entry-level and lateral candidates, pre- or post-tenure.  Ave Maria particularly welcomes applications from candidates with teaching and research interest in Contracts, Business Organizations, Sales, Negotiable Instruments, Secured Transactions, and related commercial subjects.  Applicants should have superior academic credentials; a record, or the promise, of excellence in teaching and legal scholarship; and an interest and commitment in exploring his or her teaching and research interests in an institution that strives to integrate the Catholic intellectual tradition into teaching, scholarship, and service.  Entry-level applicants may demonstrate scholarly promise by publications in scholarly journals or scholarly works in progress.  In the case of any applicant with tenure, a distinguished record of teaching and scholarship is required.  Interested candidates should send their materials to Professor Patrick T. Gillen, current chair of the Appointments Committee.    Applications can be e-mailed to Professor Gillen at ptgillen@avemarialaw.edu or can be mailed to his attention at 1025 Commons Circle, Naples, Florida 34119.  Resume review will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled.

Ave Maria School of Law, providing legal education enriched by the Catholic Faith, seeks employees whose education, experience and beliefs are consistent with its mission.  Ave Maria School of Law is an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION employer that values diversity, including diversity in religious affiliation, and strongly encourages applications from persons of diverse backgrounds willing to support the institutional mission; it requires compliance with all state and federal laws governing employment discrimination.

Savannah Law School: Director of Academic Achievement

Here is a hiring announcement from our friends at the Savannah Law School, which may be of interest to Faculty Lounge readers:

Savannah Law School has an exciting and challenging opportunity for an outgoing, organized and energetic person to serve as Director of Academic Achievement.  The Director of Academic Achievement will facilitate the development of programs to assist students with their transition to law school, employ academic resource tools and exercises for skills assessment, promote successful completion of the J. D. program and teach a bar skills course to prepare them to sit for the bar exam.  A key responsibility will be to maintain an interactive web-based informational site, including the academic TWEN site.  This position also assists the Associate Dean of the Campus with modifying existing academic program offerings to make them more accessible for students.

 The ideal candidate will have a J.D. from an accredited institution and at least 3 years of successful experience in law practice and/or law teaching with a focus on legal writing and analysis.  Preference will be given to candidates with law school academic support experience. 

 SLS is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, disability, color, or religious belief.  Salary will be competitive based on experience.  Interested candidates may submit their letter of interest, along with a current professional resume and the names of three references, to:  Savannah Law School, Attn: Rose Anne Nespica, Associate Dean, 516 Drayton Street, Savannah, Georgia 31401 or via email at rnespica@savannahlawschool.org

Dean Search Announcement: Samford / Cumberland

Dan has previously mentioned that Samford / Cumberland will be looking for a new dean to succeed John Carroll, who is stepping down from the helm in 2014.  You can find details on the search at this link.

Updated Law Faculty Lateral Moves List

I know, I know.  I always fall behind and fail to update my annual lateral moves list as new information becomes available.  It's hard to keep up with updates on a weekly basis and the act of updating the list typically triggers several fresh pieces of news.  I've made peace with being a slowpoke.   So here is the newest, but I suspect not final, iteration of the 2013 compendium.  

VIllanova Seeks Director Of Academic Compliance

Villanova University School of Law is seeking a director of academic compliance.  From the job description:

The Director of Academic Compliance is responsible for handling Academic Compliance issues, including “Character and Fitness” and attendance issues and will be the primary point of contact for student academic and compliance concerns. The Director will also be responsible for ABA Compliance and serve as the Questionnaire Policy Coordinator. The Policy Coordinator shall ensure compliance with established procedures and policies as well as the overall administration of the ABA Questionnaire submission. This person will also serve at a strategic and tactical level for implementation of Distance Learning efforts at the Law School and coordinate efforts with appropriate offices on campus and outside partners.

The description indicates that ideal candidates will have five or more years experience in a law school.

Dean Search Announcement: Faulkner

From an email that I received earlier today:

Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, located in Montgomery, Alabama, seeks applications and nominations for the position of Dean.  Additional information can be found here.

Deanship Update: Campbell

Bankruptcy judge J. Rich Leonard has been named the new law dean at Campbell.  Judge Leonard completed his undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina, and he earned a law degree at Yale.  He has served on the bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of North Carolina since 1992.  Judge Leonard has been the editor in chief of the prestigious American Bankruptcy Law Journal since 2011.  And a few months ago he published a children's book entitled The House by the Creek, "a tale of the Revolutionary War set in NC, filled with bravery and surprises, and based on a family legend."

Click here for additional reading.

Law Faculty Hiring: Which Fields Are In Biggest Demand?

Update: I erroneously left off Corps in the initial post; I've added it to the list.

I've been taking a look at Sarah Lawsky's entry level hiring list over at Prawfs.  I'm sure it's incomplete, but it's the snapshot we've got.  She lists 67 entry level hires - 60 of which are on tenure-track.  

What fields did schools hire most frequently?  I tallied what candidates' first and second areas of interest and for this purpose, considered only the tenure track hires.  Thus, with 60 candidates identifying 2 areas each, there are 120 total areas of hire.  I conflated relatively similar areas as noted.

With that, these were the top areas of entry level hiring, with the total number of hires who listed each area as their first or second area of interest.

Civil Procedure/Complex Litigation - 10
Crim Law/Civ Pro/White Collar Crime - 8
Intl/Intl Arb/IBT - 7
Con Law/Fed Cts/1st Amdt/Law & Relig - 6 
Environmental - 6
Clinic - 5 (five more were not on tenure track)
Contracts - 5 
Corps/Securities - 5
IP - 5
Property - 4
Health Law/Hlth Finance/Hlth Fraud - 3
Immigration - 3
Law and Econ - 3
Tax - 3

Legal Skills Faculty Sought -- Univ. of Massachusetts School of Law

The University of Massachusetts School of Law is looking for full-time, non-tenure track faculty to teach in our Legal Skills Program. A full description is available here: Job Description.

Entry Level Law School Faculty Hiring Report

Got information about this year's entry level faculty hiring process?  Sarah Lawsky over at Prawfs is compiling her annual list of entry level hires.  She needs all available data to make the list complete.  Her call for information is here.

Lateral Moves Update

Now that we're hitting the  AALS deadlines, I'm hearing a bit more about lateral law school faculty moves.  We're seeing multiple hires at two major state universities: Maryland and Utah.  The updated list is here.

Hiring Announcement: Mississippi

From an email message that I received earlier today:

The University of Mississippi School of Law announces the creation of the MacArthur Justice Clinic, the law school's ninth clinical program.  Opening this summer, the Clinic will undertake impact litigation on civil rights/human rights matters and criminal justice issues in Mississippi.  The law school seeks a tenure-track clinical faculty member to lead and teach in the clinic.  With the generous support of the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, the law school will receive funding for the Clinic’s litigation efforts, and will also create an endowment to provide loan repayment and fellowships for recent graduates who pursue public interest law in Mississippi.  Within five years, the law school anticipates this fund will reach the $1 million mark.  The School of Law looks forward not only to the work of the MacArthur Justice Clinic, but also to the connection the Clinic will build with the Roderick MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law.  The Chair of the Search Committee is Professor Donna Davis donnad@olemiss.edu.  For more information about the position and to apply, please visit https://jobs.olemiss.edu/postings/2645.   For more information on the establishment of the Clinic, please visit http://law.olemiss.edu/law-school-to-open-justice-clinic-establish-public-interest-endowment/.

Hiring Announcement: Duquesne

From an email that I received earlier today:

Duquesne University School of Law invites application for a faculty position for the 2013-2014 academic year, which will be, depending upon the candidate, an entry-level tenure-track, a visitor, or look-see visitor position.  We anticipate making an appointment that focuses on teaching and scholarship in the areas of Health Care (e.g., Health Law, Health Care Organization & Finance, Health Care Fraud & Abuse), primarily, and Professional Responsibility with other aspects of the teaching package subject to negotiation.  (For instance, a course on Remedies may be an area of need.)  Applicants should have superior academic credentials, previous teaching experience, and a record, or the promise, of excellence in teaching and legal scholarship, preferably in the area for which the appointment is sought.  Entry-level applicants may demonstrate scholarly promise by publications in scholarly journals or scholarly works in progress.  In the case of any applicant with tenure, a distinguished record of teaching and scholarship is required.  We especially encourage applications from racial minorities, women, and others who would enrich the diversity of our academic community.  Interested applicants should send a résumé and list of references, along with a letter of interest, to Professor Martha Jordan, Chair, Faculty Recruitment Committee at lawrecruitment@duq.edu.  Electronic submissions only, please.  Candidates are strongly discouraged from submitting an application by mail or from mailing other materials to the Faculty Recruitment Committee, although a list of published works may be appended to an application.   The application period will close no later than March 30, 2013.

More on VAPS

Regular FL blogger Eric Muller posed a very interesting and thoughtful question in this post Are We Sustaining a VAP Trap? He did not argue that there was a "VAP trap"; he was inviting thoughful inquiry and perhaps reconsideration of whether, all things considered, it makes sense (at least for some)  to have such programs or to enter such programs in the current job market.

Here is a great post from Christine Hurt over at The Conglomerate which I think sums up the issue very well. The VAP Debate. The bottom line is that doing a VAP has always entailed uncertainty and is going to be more of a risk in a down market. And it is a down market right now, particularly since so many schools are doing precisely what so many of the critics of the status quo think they ought to do - to wit, downsizing their classes and thus  not hiring new faculty. 

Professor Hurt reports a few things that bear repeating: law schools pay VAPs, not the other way around, so this is NOT like being a student and not necessarily a cost savings for the school since, although VAPs are paid more than adjuncts, they are typically paid less than regular faculty and do not do any of the associated service faculty are expected to do and sometimes teach fewer courses (programs vary). Most school could get adjuncts to teach the same classes for less money. So the cheap labor thing just doesn't wash.

In the current environment, it may well be that some schools will cut back or eliminate their VAP programs.  We will have to wait and see.  As many have already observed, not all programs are the same. Some provide more opportunities to workshop papers, more mentoring, etc. than others.  The Bigelow at Chicago is a well-known example.

At any rate, go to the Conglomerate to read Prof. Hurt's take on this issue.

Faculty Hiring: Touro

From an email message that I received earlier today:

Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center invites applications from experienced health law teachers and scholars for the Kermit Gitenstein Distinguished Visiting Chair in Health Law and Policy. Touro is seeking a nationally-known professor in the field of health law and policy to fill the chair for the spring semester in 2014. The Gitenstein visiting professor will teach at least one course at the law school, deliver public lectures, and participate fully in faculty and student life. Touro Law Center is part of Touro College, which includes New York Medical College—one of the largest private health sciences universities in the nation. The visiting chair will have the opportunity to develop collaborative initiatives with the medical profession in general and New York Medical College in particular. Women, members of minority groups and others whose background will contribute to the diversity of the faculty are encouraged to apply.

Touro Law Center is a dynamic institution that is at the forefront of legal education in this country, dedicated to producing practice-ready graduates. Touro’s students have the unique opportunity to take advantage of the first-ever law campus in the United States—a law school adjacent to and working with both a federal courthouse and a state courthouse. The law school is located in Suffolk County, Long Island, approximately an hour outside of New York City.

Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume at the earliest possible date for full consideration. Contact: Fabio Arcila, Jr., Appointments Committee Chair and Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, at farcila@tourolaw.edu<mailto:farcila@tourolaw.edu>.

Touro College is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity. Our practices and employment decisions regarding employment, hiring, assignment, promotion, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment are not to be based on an employee's race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, military discharge status, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic predisposition, housing status, or any other protected status, in accordance with applicable law. Our policies are in conformance with Title IX, 1972 Education Amendments.

Hiring Announcement: Arizona Seeks VAP Apps

From our friends in Tucson comes this announcement:

The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law welcomes applications for the position of Visiting Assistant Professor (VAP) beginning July 1, 2013. VAPs will enjoy a two-year appointment to the faculty of the College of Law. They will teach one course per semester, with institutional and financial support for scholarly research and writing. VAPs will benefit from training and mentoring by faculty members as they develop their courses and begin classroom teaching. Areas of particular interest include the following: Intellectual Property, Criminal Law, Health Law, Criminal Procedure, Torts, and Complex Litigation. The College expects that VAPs will write and publish, in a scholarly journal, an article of original research and analysis during their first year. It is expected that VAPs will seek a tenure-track position at a law school, with the full support of the College, in the fall of their second year.

Additional info here.

Faculty Hiring: Texas Tech

From an email message that I received earlier today:

Texas Tech University School of Law seeks applications from exceptional individuals to fill two tenured or tenure-track positions for the 2013–2014 or 2014–2015 academic years. 

For the first position (requisition number 88012), we are seeking a professor who, if a tenured candidate, also will serve as Director for the Law School’s Center for Water Law and Policy and George W. McCleskey Professor of Water Law (a tenure-track candidate would be able to serve as Acting Director).  The Center's mission is to contribute to the understanding, development, teaching, and study of water law and policy.  The Center is part of the Texas Tech University’s interdisciplinary water initiative, which involves faculty and students representing the disciplines of law, public policy, economics, agriculture, geosciences, engineering, biological sciences, and health sciences.  In addition to serving as the Center’s Director, responsibilities would include teaching Water Rights and related courses.    

The curricular needs for the second position (requisition number 88013) are flexible, although our greatest needs are in the areas of Texas Procedure, Professional Responsibility, skills courses, and immigration law.

Applicants for both positions must possess a J.D. degree or an advanced degree in a relevant field and have relevant experience such as teaching, legal practice, or judicial clerkship.  Entry-level candidates must show scholarly promise, as evidenced by publications in scholarly journals, scholarly works in progress or a scholarly agenda.  For any lateral applicant with tenure, a distinguished record of teaching and scholarship is required. Once hired, faculty members are evaluated and advancement is determined by contributions in teaching, research, and service.

Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, is a state-supported National Research University with an enrollment that exceeds 32,000 students.  The law school has approximately 660 students and 40 full-time faculty members.  The law school is an integral part of the University and offers 12 dual-degree programs with other Texas Tech schools and colleges.  The Lubbock metropolitan area is home to 250,000 people, enjoys affordable housing, abundant sunshine, friendly people, and offers easy access to other parts of the country.  For more information, visit our website at http://www.law.ttu.edu/.

Texas Tech is an affirmative action/Equal Opportunity Employer.  We strongly encourage applications from women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans, and we consider the needs of dual-career couples.  Please submit your cover letter, resume, and contact information for three professional references electronically to the Attention of Professor John L. Watts, Chair, Personnel Committee, at the Texas Tech Jobs website https://jobs.texastech.edu or www.workattexastech.com.   You can contact Professor Watts at john.watts@ttu.edu.  Resume review will begin immediately and continue until the positions are filled.

La Verne Seeks Visitor

From an email that I received a few days ago:

The University of La Verne College of Law is seeking a visitor to teach Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence during the 2013-14 academic year. Rank will be commensurate with experience. The law school, which is provisionally approved by the ABA, is located in Ontario, California, 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Please submit application materials or direct inquiries to Professor Kenneth Rudolf, University of La Verne College of Law, 320 East D Street, Ontario, CA 91764. E-mail: krudolf@laverne.edu; telephone 909 460-2065; fax 909 460-2083.

Arkansas Law Seeks Director Of Externships And Academic Success

The University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, is looking for a person to serve as its Director of Externships and Academic Success.   More details are here.