The Faculty Lounge

Mary Anne Bobinski Stepping Down as Emory Law Dean

Emory Law has announced that Mary Anne Bobinski will complete her term as dean in summer, 2024.  Bobinski became dean in 2019.  She will return to a full-time faculty role.

Sam Panarella Named Dean of UMass Law

UMass School of Law has announced that Sam Panarella will be its new dean.  He is currently a professor of law and director of the Max Baucus Institute at the University of Montana School of Law.   Panarella, who earned his JD from Lewis & Clark, will take over on July 18.

2023 Summer Feminist Legal Theory Series: Looking Back/Looking Forward--The Significance of Feminist Legal Theory

 

Looking Back/Looking Forward: The Significance of Feminist Legal Theory

June 28, 2023 and August 2, 2023

Pre-registration (here) required

Zoom link to be provided 1 day prior to event

Overview

This summer, the U.S. Feminist Judgments Project is pleased to host the Summer Feminist Legal Theory Series on June 28, 2023 and August 2, 2023 from 2:00pm-3:45 Eastern/11am-12:45pm Pacific.

Attendees from all parts of the academy with a verified academic email address are welcome to attend with pre-registration. There is no charge to attend. All sessions are held via Zoom.

Session 1 – June 28, 2023, 2:00pm-3:45 Eastern/11am-12:45pm Pacific

Reflecting Back on 40 Years of the Feminism and Legal Theory (FLT) Project: Innovation and Assimilation

This workshop will consider the historic and contemporary significance of the Feminism and Legal Theory Project, launched at the University of Wisconsin in 1984.

Chair: Bridget J. Crawford (Pace)

Moderator: Martha Albertson Fineman (Emory)

Panelists: Samuel Burry (Oxford), Deborah Dinner (Cornell), Martha Albertson Fineman (Emory), Risa Lieberwitz (Cornell), Linda McClain (Boston University), Martha McCluskey (Buffalo), Laura Spitz (New Mexico)

Session 2 – August 2, 2023, 2:00pm-3:45 Eastern/11am-12:45pm Pacific

How Feminist Legal Theory Can Make a Difference 

In this second session we will look at the Feminist Judgments Project, considering its approach to integrating feminist theory into law by rewriting (and thus critiquing) judicial opinions to reflect feminist principles and methods in major areas of law. 

Chair: Kathryn M. Stanchi (UNLV)

Speakers TBD

Registration

Preregistration for all participants (speakers and attendees) is required via this link.

Zoom log-in information will be sent one day prior to the event. An academic email address is required to pre-register. Anyone without an academic email address who wishes to be added should contact Bridget J. Crawford (Pace) to be added to the registration list: bcrawford at law dot pace dot edu. 

All attendees including speakers must register. Attendees need to register only once and then can attend either or both of the sessions in the summer series.

Sponsors

The Summer Feminist Legal Theory Series is co-sponsored by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, together with The Feminism and Legal Theory Project, The Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative, the Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode, the Family Law Center at the University of Virginia School of Law, and the AALS Section on Women in Legal Education. The series is coordinated by Bridget J. Crawford (Pace), bcrawford at law dot pace dot edu, and Kathy Stanchi (UNLV), kathryn dot stanchi at unlv dot edu.

 

CFP: Chicagoland Junior Scholars Conference

This just in:

The Northern Illinois University College of Law is now accepting proposals for the Sixth Annual Chicagoland Junior Scholars Conference on Friday, October 6, 2023. The conference will be held in person at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. This all-day conference offers junior scholars in the greater Chicagoland area (broadly defined) the opportunity to present works-in-progress, receive feedback from a senior faculty reader and other attendees, and network with other legal scholars in the region. Preference will be given to law faculty who have been teaching fewer than 10 years. Articles (or other scholarly works, such as book chapters) may be presented at any stage of development.

If you are interested in presenting, please submit a working title and abstract of 200-300 words to [email protected] no later than July 5, 2023. For an abstract to be eligible for submission, the author must anticipate that the paper will be a true working draft (neither published nor so close to publication that significant changes are not feasible) by the date of the Conference. Selected authors will be notified by July 21, 2023. Articles will be due no later than September 15, 2023. There is no registration fee for this conference. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

In Memoriam: Steve Shiffrin

In sad news, Steve Shiffrin, professor at Cornell, passed away on May 29.  He served on the Cornell faculty for 36 years.  

Hiring Announcement: University of San Francisco School of Law

From an email message I recently received:

The School of Law at the University of San Francisco is seeking a full-time non-tenure track Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis Professor for the upcoming academic year. The faculty member guides first-year law students through their first foray into legal writing and research so they are best equipped to analyze and write and research about complex legal issues. The faculty member will teach two sections each semester comprised of approximately 20 students per class. During the fall semester, the professor will teach predictive writing and legal analysis. The spring semester will focus on persuasive writing, legal research, and oral advocacy. The spring semester culminates in a moot court event where alumni attorneys act as judges during oral arguments. The small class size fosters collaboration and allows faculty to adapt instruction to particular classroom needs and provide individualized feedback. This feedback is core to the school’s legal writing program. In addition, the professor may teach an additional class each semester as assigned by the Associate Dean or Dean.

3 Calls for Papers: AALS Section on Constitutional Law

This just in:

There are three Calls for Papers for the January 2024 AALS Annual Meeting.  They are listed below. 

AALS Section on Constitutional Law Main Program Call for Papers

The Section on Constitutional Law invites submissions for the Section’s Article V panel on amending the U.S. Constitution, to be held at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Association of the American Law Schools (AALS), on January 3-6, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

Entitled “Reviving Article V: A Structural Approach to Defending Democracy,” this panel is the Section’s primary program. Panelists will discuss the constitutional amendment process in the United States, with a focus on whether Article V remains relevant today in our constitutional structure despite its prolonged disuse.

AALS Section on Constitutional Law Pedagogy Program Call for Papers

The Section on Constitutional Law invites submissions for the Section’s Pedagogy Program on stare decisis, to be held at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Association of the American Law Schools (AALS), on January 3-6, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

Entitled “Teaching Stare Decisis – From the Warren Court (and Before) to the Roberts Court (and Beyond),” this program seeks to present a robust discussion on stare decisis. The panel’s mandate is broad and seeks to discuss history, precedent, and the decisional process relating to stare decisis.

AALS Section on Constitutional Law Works-in-Progress Call for Papers

The Section on Constitutional Law invites submissions for the Section’s Works-in- Progress program to be held at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Association of the American Law Schools (AALS), on January 3-6, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

This year’s program, entitled “The Many Voices of Constitutional Law,” provides a platform for scholars to discuss works at any stage in the writing process. There is no specific topic or focus area for the works-in-progress panel. Rather, scholars who seek critical feedback for a new or ongoing project are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to newer scholars – those with less than 7 years of experience in the academy.

Eligibility

All full-time faculty at AALS member law schools, including fellows and VAPs, are eligible for consideration. The Section especially encourages submissions from pre-tenure, clinical, and tenured faculty members who diversify the legal academy through demographic, geographic, viewpoint, seniority, and school type.

Submissions

Interested faculty should submit an abstract no longer than 500 words to the Section Chair, Professor Meg Penrose, at [email protected] no later than 5:00 p.m. CST on Friday, August 25, 2023. As appropriate, please indicate “Article V Submission – 2024 AALS Annual Meeting” , "Stare Decisis Submission - 2024 AALS Annual Meeting", or "Works-in-Progress - 2024 AALS Annual Meeting" both in the subject line of your email and at the top of your abstract.

Abstracts should include your name and institutional affiliation, and may be supplemented by a statement expressing how your participation will diversify the panel discussion.

Publication

The Section will not publish selected papers. Panelists are encouraged to seek publication through other avenues.

Questions

All questions should be directed to the Section Chair.

Decisional Process

Panelists will be selected by members of the Executive Committee using a blind selection process. However, the Section reserves the right to balance its panels, if necessary, to comply with the AALS principles of diversity. The Section is committed to adhering to all AALS policies in the selection process.

Selected panelists will be notified by late September. If selected, panelists are responsible for the costs incurred in participating in the panel, including registration fees for the AALS Annual Meeting in addition to accommodation and travel expenses.

Legacy Work, Unfinished Business, and the Senior Academic

If you happen to be a professor “of a certain age” (say, late middle age and beyond), then it’s likely that you’ve given some thought to the final laps of your career and when and how you might eventually transition into retirement. In my case, these contemplations seemed impressionistic at first, as if this stage of life was far off in the future. The pandemic didn’t help matters – even as Zoom teaching fatigue caused me to continuously check my retirement account balances! Now, however, as we settle into whatever the new normal happens to be, I’m focussing more clearly about planning for the years to come.

In this, my first post for The Faculty Lounge, I won’t pretend to know all the relevant factors towards planning the later stages of an academic career and possible retirement. But I would like to talk about notions of “legacy work” and unfinished business. I do so with a sense of purpose, for I believe that our later years can be highlighted by some of our best and most original work.

What is your “legacy work”?

I was introduced to the term legacy work by Chris Guillebeau, a writer and entrepreneur. In The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World (2010), he defined legacy work as using your own unique skills to create a lasting contribution to the world. Guillebeau posed two simple questions towards defining one’s legacy work: (1) "What do you really want to get out of life?," and (2) "What can you offer the world that no one else can?"

Guillebeau, a later Gen Xer (born in 1978), has been writing for a younger cohort and exploring paths towards an independent life. Senior faculty don’t exactly fit that profile. After all, we’ve opted to attach ourselves to institutions, in a vocation that creates certain expectations and hoops through which we sometimes must jump. However, we often enjoy a unique degree of independence in our jobs, and the concept of legacy work may resonate with those of us who are aware that, well, the clock is ticking.

Another way to look at legacy work is from the other, post-facto direction, asking what -- when all is said and truly done -- you would like your body of work to look like in the aggregate? Pamela Slim’s Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together (2013) invites us to imagine “the personal legacy you leave at the end of your life, including all the tangible and intangible things you have created.” She defines “body of work” this way:

Your body of work is everything you create, contribute, affect, and impact. For individuals, it is the personal legacy you leave at the end of your life, including all the tangible and intangible things you have created.

So, with those thoughts in mind, what is your legacy work?

You may already be doing it. In conventional terms, it may be via your teaching, scholarship, or service work. Or perhaps you’re leading a program or serving in academic administration. If so, then planning your late career path may involve variations on familiar themes.

If you feel like you haven’t defined your legacy work, then there’s no time like the present to start doing so. Asking yourself some of the questions posed by the likes of Chris Guillebeau and Pamela Slim may yield some exciting answers.

Unfinished Business

Whether you’re continuing the same path or defining a new one, I’m guessing that your legacy work aspirations include some unfinished business. It may be a unique course offering, some long-pondered writings, an interesting project (e.g., for fellow law professors, pro bono legal or policy advocacy), or a creative service contribution. It’s also possible that these pieces of unfinished business will follow you, in a good way, into a retirement that continues to engage your interests.

Especially if your legacy work and unfinished business do not require changing employers and you enjoy relative job security, or if you are transitioning into retirement while wishing to remain active as an academic citizen, then this is an opportunity to be intentional, responsibly bold, and driven by passion for your chosen focus. While the current state of academic freedom can feel precarious these days, at least you’re less likely to be pre-screening your activities for what members of a tenure & promotion committee or lateral hiring committee might think. Indeed, in terms of having a strong, authentic, and perhaps even courageous voice, there can be a freeing aspect to being closer to the end of an academic career than to the beginning.

I’ll close for now, with thanks for reading this far. Especially for those who, like me, have suddenly found themselves among the “senior faculty” at their respective institutions, I hope these observations have been thought-provoking and useful. You see, contributing to The Faculty Lounge is part of my unfinished business, for I have long wanted to write for a respected blog that allows me to cogitate about legal education and higher education, legal scholarship, and intersections between law and psychology, among other topics. With thanks to co-founder Dan Filler for graciously responding to my unsolicited inquiry earlier this spring, I look forward to making future contributions.

***

A brief self-introduction: I’ve been a professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston since 1994, where my current work is grounded in employment law and in the interdisciplinary field of therapeutic jurisprudence. In terms of social media writings, since 2008 I’ve been writing a blog titled Minding the Workplace, which explores the world of work and workers, workplace law and policy, and my niche interests in workplace bullying and therapeutic jurisprudence. I’ll be drawing on ideas from that blog periodically for forthcoming posts here. I can be reached at [email protected].

God Bless the Child

"God Bless the Child" was written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog and initially released in 1942 on Okeh Records, the jazz and blues (then sometimes called Race music) subsidiary of Columbia. Holiday recorded it two more times for mainstream labels, Decca (1950) and Verve (1956). It was also a huge hit for Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1968. Diana Ross sang it in the 1972 Billie Holiday biopic "Lady Sings the Blues." (Yes, there was a Billie Holiday post with this song in December, but I thought it was also worth a post of its own.)

CFP for Law & Rurality Workshop

Workshop will be held virtually Nov. 17th & abstracts are due Aug. 21. More info. here: Download Call for Papers - Law and Rurality Workshop 2023

University of Arkansas School of Law Seeks Dean

The University of Arkansas School of Law (Fayetteville)  is looking for its next dean.  Individuals interested in the position can view the job description and apply here.

Karen Sneddon Named Dean of Mercer Law

Mercer University School of Law has announced that Karen Sneddon will be its permanent dean.  Sneddon has served as interim dean since October 2021.  She joined the Mercer faculty in 2006.  Sneddon earned her JD from Tulane.

CFP: Georgia State Law Review - Brief Exclusive Review Window

This just in:

The Georgia State University Law Review is conducting an exclusive article review for Volume 40 of the Review. Any article submitted to the Law Review between June 5th through June 16th will be evaluated for publication by June 23rd. This is an excellent opportunity for authors who wish to ascertain a publication offer before the latter half of the summer.

By submitting an article, the author agrees to accept an offer for publication, should one be extended. The author is not required to withdraw any article previously submitted for consideration elsewhere.  However, the author may not accept an offer from another journal for any article submitted to this exclusive review process unless the Review indicates that the article will not receive a publication offer. Any articles accepted through this exclusive review process will be published in the Review's second or third issues, which are slated for publication in Spring of 2024.  

If you have an article you would like to submit, please e-mail Rebecca Sohnlein and Mackenzie Miller a copy of the article and your CV at [email protected] with the subject line "Volume 40 Exclusive Article Review." If you have submitted an article to the Georgia State Law Review previously, you must resubmit your article for consideration in this exclusive review. We are excited to read your submissions!