The Faculty Lounge

Curtis on Jefferson's Freeholders and the Politics of Ownership

I've been reading Christopher Curtis' Jefferson's Freeholders and the Politics of Ownership of late and enjoying it a great deal.  (This, I guess, comes as no surprise since it's on the legal history of the old South!) Curtis correlates the changes in Virginia law towards property from Revolution through Civil War (such as the focus on landownership as a necessity of voting rights) with changes in attitudes towards slavery.  And get this: he begins with one of my favorite antebellum figures, James P. Holcombe!  I think Curtis provides an excellent gauge the changes in ideas that took place in Virgina leading into Civil War and thus gives us a very good way of thinking about the growth of the market and about slavery -- two topics of immense importance in thinking about the changes our country and our legal system went through, and of course in thinking about the coming of war.  Though he doesn't talk about this so explicitly, I think this is also about the growth of individualism.  Whether the changes in the law had an independent power or whether they were just gauges of what was happening is really open to debate, though my strong suspicion is that law is largely a dependent variable.

Cribbing now from Cambridge University Press' website:

Jefferson's Freeholders explores the historical processes by which Virginia was transformed from a British colony into a Southern slave state. It focuses on changing conceptualizations of ownership and emphasizes the persistent influence of the English common law on Virginia's postcolonial political culture. The book explains how the traditional characteristics of land tenure became subverted by the dynamic contractual relations of a commercial economy and assesses the political consequences of the law reforms that were necessitated by these developments. Nineteenth-century reforms seeking to reconcile the common law with modern commercial practices embraced new democratic expressions about the economic and political power of labor, and thereby encouraged the idea that slavery was an essential element in sustaining republican government in Virginia. By the 1850s, the ownership of human property had replaced the ownership of land as the distinguishing basis for political power with tragic consequences for the Old Dominion.

The book is very important and should get a lot of attention in legal history circles as well as among historians of the south and the antebellum period more generally.

Faculty Hiring: Duke (Clinical -- International Human Rights)

From an email that I received earlier today:

Duke University’s Law School seeks to appoint a clinical professor of law (open with regard to rank) in the field of international human rights law beginning in the Fall 2013.

The appointment offers a unique opportunity to join a law school that has deep faculty, student and institutional engagement in human rights and international law.  Duke Law is home to both a Center for International and Comparative Law, as well as a Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security.  It offers a joint JD-LLM in international and comparative law, has a variety of student organizations relating to international law, and publishes the student-edited Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law.

The precise contours of the position, including resources and institutional support, will be tailored to the strengths and interests of the successful applicant.  In addition to a strong record of, or demonstrated potential for, clinical teaching, intellectual engagement, and leadership in the field, the ideal candidate will have experience in developing effective clinical programs or practice-oriented courses, working collaboratively with faculty members in law and related fields, and a record of practical engagement in international human rights law.

Teaching obligations will focus on developing and supervising experiential education opportunities for Duke Law students. Courses offered may include some combination of the following—an international human rights law clinic, broadly defined; carefully structured externship courses; and a doctrinal course that could be integrated with the clinic or externship courses. 

This is an exciting time for clinical and experiential education at Duke Law School.  The Clinical Program, which currently consists of nine clinical courses, is an integral component of the Law School’s curricular focus on professional development and problem solving.  The candidate would be encouraged to engage actively with faculty from across the Law School and University to continue to grow and strengthen this key component of the curriculum. 

Duke University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Persons of color and women are encouraged to apply. 

* * * * * * *

Send a cover letter describing your interest in the position as well as a current curriculum vitae to:

Professor Laurence R. Helfer

Co-Director, Center for International and Comparative Law

Duke University School of Law

Box 90360

Science Drive & Towerview Rd.

Durham, NC 27707

U.S.A.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their materials via email to Alison Prince at ali.prince@law.duke.edu.

Priority will be given to applications received by Monday October 29, 2012.

Colors of Confinement: The Movie. (Not Really.)

"Colors of Confinement: Rare Kodachrome Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II" was published in August by the University of North Carolina Press in collaboration with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.  The Center for Documentary Studies produced this three-minute micro-documentary about the book.  I think it does a nice job of capturing some of what's special about these rare color photos -- especially the bit at the very end when they transform an image from black-and-white to the original color.

 

Colors of Confinement: Rare Kodachrome Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II from Center for Documentary Studies on Vimeo.

John Hampden Pleasants' Grave

As I'm sitting here working on the Nat Turner rebellion, I realize that I have a picture of the grave of John Hampden Pleasants, who was editor of the Richmond Whig.  This is from Richmond's fabulous Shockoe Hill Cemetery -- a new favorite haunt of mine.

Pleasants was critical of the vigilante action in the wake of the rebellion -- and also argued (in opposition to many people) that the rebellion was limited in scope.  Where many thought that Turner was only a small part of a vast conspiracy, Pleasants argued there was little evidence that the rebellion extended further.  

I recall a lecture by Peter Wood some years ago where he said in essence, "who knows.  Maybe there was a vast conspiracy."  I think we'll never know, but I'm skeptical of those who think that enslaved people could co-ordinate a rebellion across broad spaces.  Though a lot of people sure thought that the churches and the press were ways of organizing and spreading the spirit of rebellion.

 

Annette Clark and the Situation at SLU

Within the past few years, there have been several well-publicized instances of individuals losing their law deanships because they stood up to university administrators regarding the interests (and assets) of the law school.  I will focus for the time being on the developing situation at Saint Louis University School of Law.

As was widely reported last month, Annette Clark resigned her position as dean of SLU Law while issuing a stinging public rebuke of SLU President Lawrence Biondi.  For Clark, this was not a mere matter of disagreement over policy.  Commenting that "it is the ultimate irony that a Jesuit university would operate so far outside the bounds of common decency, collegiality, professionalism and integrity," Clark asserted that the SLU administration "can’t be trusted to act honestly and in the best interest of its faculty, staff and students."

It is important to consider that, once Clark had lost confidence in the university administration, she had options.  Among those options was to lay low.  That is, she could have exercised deliberate indifference to any misconduct that she observed and coasted through her term as dean, all the while enjoying the pay and prestige that come with that position.  Her record would not be blemished with controversy, and she might even consider seeking the deanship of a law school at another university.

Or, if completing her term as dean was not feasible because her conscience couldn’t bear it any longer, she could have resigned quietly, justifying that resignation by citing personal, health, family, or whatever sorts of reasons that folks often offer when they'd prefer not to mention the actual reason.  Again, her record would not be blemished with controversy, and she would remain well-positioned to pursue other opportunities.

Or, she could have called out the administration publicly, which is precisely what she did last month.

Clark’s actions will undoubtedly have negative ramifications for SLU Law.  At least in the short term, the situation will have a significant adverse impact upon faculty and student morale, and will likely impede the recruitment of prospective faculty and students during the coming academic year and perhaps beyond.  What is more, the school is now being led by someone whose qualifications to serve as a law dean are questionable, as he himself seems to acknowledge.

There will likely be consequences to Clark as well.  Although her experience at SLU Law is behind her--she rejoined the faculty at Seattle University School of Law earlier this month--she will remain a highly controversial figure in American legal education for some time.  Accordingly, she will lose out on opportunities that would otherwise have been available to her.  

Does this mean that it was a mistake for Clark to resign and issue a public condemnation?  Absolutely not.  Although things may get much worse before they get better at SLU Law, a festering problem with the SLU administration has been exposed.  The SLU Law faculty, the greater legal academy, and the ABA are now well aware of it.  The question remains whether there will be a meaningful response.

In the interim, I hope that Annette Clark's actions at SLU will inspire present and future law deans who might otherwise lay low in the face of university misconduct to react strongly and publicly.  The greatest threat to an abusive administration is a dean and faculty who are prepared to expose it.  Even if it means that the dean and faculty will suffer professionally as a result.

 

 

Kweku Adoboli Trial Began Today

The trial of alleged UBS rogue trader Kweku Adoboli began today in Southwark Crown Court.  Adoboli has denied four charges – two of false accounting and two of fraud by abuse of position – relating to his trading activities from almost exactly one year ago.  I blogged about his arrest last year here and here. 

I’m looking forward to the opportunity (hopefully) afforded by the trial to learn about the facts surrounding this case.  Compared to some other recent rogue traders, I still feel that relatively little is known about Adoboli’s motivations, relationships at the bank, and trades. 

There is a good article in today’s FT outlining the prosecutor’s opening arguments, and a nice opinion piece from John Gapper yesterday (not explicitly tied to the Adoboli case, though I think related) on how the financial incentive to behave badly is likely to continue at banks in the face of recently-announced reforms from Deutsche, Barclays, and others.  I can’t for the life of me find the comment online (plea to the FT: why can’t you improve your search functionality??)

I will be back to unpack the prosecution’s arguments in some more detail later.  But for now, I will simply say that the bulk of the facts alleged will do nothing to rehabilitate UBS in the eyes of most critics, though it appears the prosecutor’s goal is to paint UBS as a victim of Adoboli’s scheming. 

For example, the prosecution has argued that Adoboli had been hiding positions and falsifying records for nearly three years, that his trades were so large and complex that they nearly destroyed UBS prior to being unwound last year, that he used his knowledge of the back office to create “slush funds” unknown to superiors, and that his pay increased dramatically during this time period of hidden trades and false records from £65,000 in 2008 to £360,000 in 2010, while his bonus increased by more than 16 times to £250,000.  While these may be the marks of a scheming, dishonest trader, they are also the mark of a bank with a poor compliance system, incentive problems, supervisory issues, and – most likely – risk culture issues that need to be examined in more detail.

Finally, I wanted to call attention to one portion of the prosecutor’s opening statement:

She alleged his activities were “far more deliberate than that of a mere rogue trader” because he “faked bookings. He created false accounts and conducted himself as a master fraudster, deliberately and systematically deceiving and defrauding the bank which was employing him.” (emphasis mine)

Umm . . . no.  That’s pretty much the definition of a rogue trader.  

(Photo: The Associated Press)

 

Prior Related Posts:

The Rogue Trading KISS

When $61bn Seemed Like Real Money

Denial: It Ain’t Just A River In Egypt

It’s The Stupid Culture

It’s The Culture, Stupid

Kerviel’s Fake Trades: Genius Or Copy Cat?

Kerviel’s Fake Trades: The Anatomy of A Cover-Up

On Warning Signs II: Follow The Money

On Warning Signs: You Can’t Get There From Here

Rogues Versus Scapegoats

Kerviel Trial Opens to Fanfare

Société Générale: Back In The Saddle Again

Jérôme Kerviel to Société Générale: Stand By Your Man

 

 

Welcome to the Blogosphere: Worlds of Law

Mark Weiner has started a blog, Worlds of Law.  It begins in Wales.

Couple of Legal History Items

Josh Blackman's got the goods (i.e., a photograph) on FDR's pardon of Charles Hauser, the defendant in Carolene Products.  Josh also raises a good idea for research in wills -- how the quality of computer-drafted wills compares to those prepared by lawyers.  

Also, as I sit here working on edits on the first chapter of University, Court, and Slave, which discusses the violence in the wake of Nat Turner's rebellion, it occurs to me that there should be more talk about Dan Sharfstein's important recent article ("Atrocity, Entitlement, and Personhood in Property") on the ways that violence confirms property rights.  Along those lines, here is an excerpt of a letter written just after the rebellion.  It is an illustration of just how much slaveowners resorted to violence to shore up the institution in the wake of Nat Turner's rebellion:

It is really requisite for some time yet to show in full force, that the blacks may have view of the power which can be speedily used against [them].  The impression must be on their fears through the medium of their eyes and bodily feelings.  By reason or calculation, their minds cannot be convinced of the great disparity between them and the whites in point of power, resources, etc.  They must be convinced that, they must and will be soon destroyed if their conduct makes it in the least necessary.

Later in the semester I hope to talk a lot more about the nature of the violence brought to bear in the wake of Nat Turner.  It was gruesome.  The illustration is Blackhead Signpost Road in Southampton, Virginia, scene of Turner's rebellion.  The road got its name because a suspected rebel was executed there and his head left on a pole as a warning.  

Update as of July 18,2013:  my paper on "The Nat Turner Trials" is up on ssrn.

U.S. News and the Shrinking Class Size

As I've been embroiled in an interstate move, I've been a little out of the loop re discussions about law school applications being down, difficulties of maintaining student credentials in this market etc.  But it seems that in recent weeks as the dust settles from last year's admissions process, the story is that a number of schools are taking smaller classes in order to maintain credentials and this in turn causes serious financial hardships for those schools.

Am I missing something or is this largely U.S. News driven?  Admissions offices are struggling so hard to maintain GPA and LSAT scores in a shrinking student market that the figures just don't add up and classes are shrinking dramatically.  There may be many good reasons to reduce class sizes and maintain a certain level of student credentials e.g. ensuring that admitted students will be successful both in school and in the workplace thereafter.  However, if we're all honest, how much of the pressure to maintain credentials comes from fear of dropping in the U.S. News rankings?

If the U.S. News is having a disproportionate affect on class size (when measured against other reasons a school might choose to shrink the class size), isn't it time for schools and students to stop relying so heavily on these rankings?  I've met a number of students in recent years happily ensconced at third and fourth tier schools, even though they could transfer to 'higher ranked' schools because they are pleased with the level of student/instructor interaction and support and they are confident in job placement and bar passage at those schools.  Can we not give students credit for making decisions about where they want to study outside the rankings?

I don't want to sound naive here, but law schools seem to be on the eve of some significant changes in terms of the nature and value of legal education and the likelihood of students finding jobs.  Can we put rankings to the side and focus on the questions that should be more important in changing times?

 

Conference Announcement: Intercountry Adoption

A slightly edited version of an email that I received yesterday:

In February, the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute for Law, Religion and Ethics at the Pepperdine School of Law will host its 10^th annual conference.  This year we will explore the complexities of intercountry adoption from legal, social, and religious perspectives.  The Nootbaar Institute now welcomes proposals addressing this topic.

If you would like to present a paper or organize a panel of 3-4 presenters, please submit your proposal by October 8, 2012 to dana.zacharia@pepperdine.edu.

If you have questions about the substance of the conference, contact Bob Cochran at robert.cochran@pepperdine.edu or Jay Milbrandt at jay.milbrandt@pepperdine.edu. For questions about the details of the conference, contact Dana Zacharia by email dana.zacharia@pepperdine.edu or by phone (310) 506-6978.

For more information on the Nootbaar Institute and to view details of past conferences, please visit: http://law.pepperdine.edu/nootbaar.

Call for Articles: Arkansas Law Review

From my friend (and Arkansas law professor) Dustin Buehler:

The Arkansas Law Review is pleased to announce a call for papers in conjunction with the 2012 Annual Symposium to be held on Friday, November 9 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  The topic of the symposium will focus on the mortgage foreclosure crisis.  The University of Arkansas School of Law is delighted to host Professor Dale Whitman as a Visiting Professor for the 2012-2013 academic year.  His scholarship has informed the direction of our symposium.

The first issue of Volume 66 will be devoted to the Symposium and will be published in early spring 2013. We encourage articles analyzing both the causes and effects of the crisis from a regulatory perspective and a homeowner perspective.  We would also appreciate forward-looking articles that posit solutions and preventive measures.    

Authors should submit an abstract and a cover letter to rewright@email.uark.edu.  The deadline for submissions of article proposals is Monday, October 8, 2012.  Please feel free to email Robin Wright at rewright@email.uark.edu with any questions.

Faculty Hiring: Campbell

CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW invites applications for three, full-time, tenure-track faculty positions to commence in the Fall Semester 2013.  Primary curricular needs include UCC/commercial law (e.g., Sales, Secured Transactions, and Payment Systems), business law (e.g., Business Organizations, Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Securities Regulation), and evidence.  Candidates should have excellent academic credentials and a proven record of (or demonstrated potential for) outstanding classroom teaching and scholarship.  Both lateral and entry level candidates will be considered.

The School of Law relocated to a new facility in downtown Raleigh in September 2009 (the university’s primary campus is in Buies Creek, a rural community thirty miles south of Raleigh). The law school’s new capital-city location provides its approximately 475 students with a wealth of opportunities that enrich their educational experience.  Raleigh, along with the Research Triangle area, is repeatedly cited in national surveys as one of the best areas for starting a new career or business, for excellence in education (from public schools to post-graduate studies), and for enjoyable quality of life. 

Campbell University’s mission is to graduate students with exemplary academic and professional skills who are prepared for purposeful lives and meaningful service. The University is informed and inspired to a great extent by three theological and biblical presuppositions: learning is appointed and conserved by God as essential to the fulfillment of human destiny; in Christ all things consist and find ultimate unity; and the Kingdom of God in this world is rooted and grounded in Christian community. 

Consistent with the University’s mission, the School of Law is a highly demanding, purposely small, intensely personal community of faculty and students whose aim, guided by transcendent values, is to develop lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, who view the practice of law as a calling to serve others, and to create a more just society.  To that end, the law school (1) offers an academic program that is highly demanding, (2) brings together the theoretical and practical to produce thoughtful and talented lawyers, (3) utilizes the talents of a faculty that is profoundly committed to students and teaching, (4) presents the practice of law as a way to make a difference by serving others, and (5) offers a Christian perspective on law and justice.

Applicants should provide a resume and a cover letter, addressing the applicant’s interest in and qualifications for fulfilling and embracing the University’s mission and the law school’s vision.  Electronic applications are preferred and should be e-mailed to the chair of the faculty hiring committee, Professor Richard Bowser, at bowserr@campbell.edu.

Faculty Governance at ABA-Approved Law Schools

My sincere thanks to Al, Dan, and the other Faculty Lounge regulars for the opportunity to guest blog for awhile.  I’ve been a daily follower of the Lounge for many years, and I look forward to sharing some posts of my own.

Among other topics, I intend to reflect upon the current state of faculty governance at ABA-approved law schools.  In particular, I will address several recent and highly disturbing situations involving university administrators who have usurped the role of a law faculty in some significant respect (or in many such respects) and/or have improperly appropriated assets of a law school.  I will also offer thoughts as to how law faculties and the ABA Section on Legal Education should respond when actions of university administrators suggest a lack of concern with the best interests of the law school.

It’s great to be in the Lounge!

Pucillo Stepping into the Lounge

It's my pleasure to announce that my friend Phil Pucillo is stepping into the facutly lounge to sit with us for a spell.  Phil teaches at Michigan State, where he has been since 2010.  Before that he visited with us here at UNC.  He began his teaching career at Ave Maria and Phil has also taught at Tulane.  Phil writes in constitutional law and ethics, among other areas.  Before entering the academy he clerked for Judge Ronald Lee Gilman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and William Traxler of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and practiced with Skadden, Arps in their Washington, DC office.  Phil is a hero of mine because of his stand for academic freedom, which is a long story that we should talk about sometime.

James Krier and the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference

This morning's mail brings news that James Krier will receive the Brigham-Kanner Prize at the 9th annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference at William and Mary on October 10 and 11.  The distinguished speakers are listed in the conference brochure.  A few years back I spoke at this conference when it honored Richard Pipes.  It was a huge amount of fun and a great discussion and I'm certain it will be again.

That weekend is going to be a busy one for those of us interested in property, because over across the Blue Ridge Mountains in lovely Lexington Washington and Lee is also holding a conference on Climate Change in the Former Colonies.  Of course, that's also the weekend of the hiring conference.

AALS Committee on Research: Advancing Student and Faculty-Student Scholarship

From my friend, and Tennessee law professor, Joan Heminway:

The Association of American Law Schools Committee on Research is considering putting on an AALS panel on (1) how we law professors can advance student scholarship and (related but separately) (2) how we can advance joint faculty-student scholarship. 

Most student law review notes (or other student articles) are written as independent study projects or, occasionally, as individual term papers in seminars.  But are there other approaches that you have seen tried or particular ways of structuring independent study projects or seminar term papers that have been especially successful?  Most faculty members don’t cowrite articles with students.  But have you seen techniques or approaches that helped such collaborative projects succeed—or ones that led them to fail?

The Committee has asked us to identify some ideas that the panel can more closely explore, and we’d much appreciate any tips that you could pass along.  If you can give us just a few sentences that describe different models for fostering student or faculty-student scholarship that you have seen—whether those sentences include recommendations, cautionary tales, or just neutral reports—we’d love to see them.  Please e-mail them to either Joan Heminway (jheminwa@tennessee.edu) or Eugene Volokh (volokh@law.ucla.edu).  Submissions received by October 1 would be most useful to us in our planning, but feel free to respond later if you can’t reply by then.

CFP: Third Annual JUNIOR FACULTY BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL LAW WORKSHOP

THE CENTER FOR LAW, ECONOMICS & FINANCE (C-LEAF)

AT

THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL

 

Third Annual JUNIOR FACULTY BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL LAW WORKSHOP

AND JUNIOR FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP PRIZES

 

Sponsored by Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

            The Center for Law, Economics & Finance (C-LEAF) at The George Washington University Law School is pleased to announce its third annual Junior Faculty Business and Financial Law Workshop and Junior Faculty Scholarship Prizes.  The Workshop and Prizes are sponsored by Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. The Workshop will be held on April 5-6, 2013 at GW Law School in Washington, DC.

 

            The Workshop supports and recognizes the work of young legal scholars in accounting, banking, bankruptcy, corporations, economics, finance and securities, while promoting interaction among them and selected senior faculty. By providing a forum for the exchange of creative ideas in these areas, C-LEAF also aims to encourage new and innovative scholarship.

 

Approximately ten papers will be chosen from those submitted for presentation at the Workshop pursuant to this Call for Papers. At the Workshop, one or more senior scholars will comment on each paper, followed by a general discussion of each paper among all participants. The Workshop audience will include invited young scholars, faculty from GW’s Law School and Business School, faculty from other institutions, and invited guests.

 

At the conclusion of the Workshop, three papers will be selected to receive Junior Faculty Scholarship Prizes of $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000, respectively.  All prize winners will be invited to become Fellows of C-LEAF.* C-LEAF makes no publication commitment, but chosen papers will be featured on its website as part of the C-LEAF Working Paper series.

 

            Junior scholars who have not yet received tenure, but have held a full-time academic appointment for less than seven years as of the submission date, are cordially invited to submit summaries or drafts of their papers.  Although published work is not eligible for submission, submissions may include work that has been accepted for publication. C-LEAF will cover hotel and meal expenses of all selected presenters.

 

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, one of the leading law firms serving the financial services industry and known for its premier practice in the area of private investment funds and private equity M&A, generously sponsors the Junior Faculty Scholarship Workshop and Prizes and provides other financial assistance to C-LEAF.

 

            Those interested in presenting a paper at the Workshop should submit a summary or draft, preferably by e-mail, on or before November 9, 2012.  To facilitate blind review, your name and other identifying information should be redacted from your paper submission.  Direct your submission, along with any inquiries related to the Workshop, to:

 

Professor Lisa M. Fairfax

Leroy Sorenson Merrifield Research Professor of Law

George Washington University Law School

2000 H Street, NW

Washington, DC 20052

lfairfax@law.gwu.edu

 

            Papers and Junior Faculty Scholarship Prizes will be selected after a blind review by members of the C-LEAF Executive Board. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by December 14, 2012. Please feel free to pass this Call for Papers along to any colleagues who may be interested.

---

* For more information on C-LEAF Fellowship, please visit our website at http://www.law.gwu.edu/Academics/research_centers/C-LEAF/Pages/default.aspx, or contact us at cleaf@law.gwu.edu.

Garrow on Mack

David Garrow reviews Ken Mack's Representing the Race in today's Washington Post.  Cribbing now from the final paragraph of the review:

“Representing the Race” examines the pre-Brown world of black lawyers with a perceptive, critical thoughtfulness that sets Mack’s work above all previous treatments. By eschewing celebratory homage in favor of tough-minded honesty, he addresses the hardest questions about representativeness and “racial authenticity” with an acuity and freshness that resonate forward to the present day. In 1962, when President John F. Kennedy considered naming William H. Hastie, the country’s only black federal appellate judge, as the first black Supreme Court justice, Kennedy’s advisers concluded that Hastie was insufficiently black to be embraced by African Americans. As Mack ruefully concludes, “lawyers who only a few years before had seemed like brave representatives of a repressed minority group now seemed inauthentic.” “Representing the Race” will be a prize-winning book that profoundly alters and improves our understanding of civil rights history.

 

Faculty Hiring: Washington and Lee

Two announcements, from our friends in Lexington, VA:

Announcement #1:

Washington and Lee University School of Law invites applications for several faculty positions.  Both entry-level and lateral candidates will be considered.  A clinical faculty member is sought to develop and teach a new Citizenship and Immigration Clinic (see below).  Other needs are Civil Procedure, Transnational Law, Torts, Property, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Real Estate Transactions, and Employment Law.  Candidates who contribute to the diversity of the faculty are especially encouraged to apply.  Washington and Lee offers exceptional opportunities: a vibrant community of scholars; a nurturing atmosphere for tenure-track faculty, including pre-tenure leave and generous research support; institutional commitment to innovation in legal education, including experiential learning in the third year; superb, engaged students;  location in the beautiful setting of the Great Valley of Virginia. Appointments Committee members are: Erik Luna and Brian Murchison (co-chairs), Brant Hellwig, Michelle Drumbl, Ben Spencer, J.D. King, and Mark Drumbl.  Please direct applications/inquiries to Professor Luna or Professor Murchison either by email [ lunae@wlu.edu or murchisonb@wlu.edu ] or by regular mail addressed to Washington and Lee University School of Law, Lexington, Virginia 24450.

Announcement #2:

Washington and Lee University School of Law invites applications for a clinical faculty position to direct its new Citizenship and Immigration Clinic.  This is a tenure-track position. 

The clinic offers students the opportunity to engage in meaningful client work, providing direct representation to immigrants in south and central Virginia who cannot afford the services of private attorneys, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable populations.  The clinic works with unaccompanied minors, victims of domestic violence, and refugees to obtain immigration benefits that allow them to fully pursue their lives in the United States.  The clinic handles U visas, VAWA self-petitions, Special Immigrant Juvenile cases, deportation defense, asylum claims, applications for permanent residence, BIA appeals, and other immigration cases.

Applicants should have significant experience in immigration work.  In addition, they should have outstanding legal writing skills, high ethical standards, sound judgment, and the ability to motivate and train law students.  Other highly desirable attributes will be prior law school teaching experience and a track record of publication.  The clinic director is expected to become a member of the Virginia bar.  Interested candidates should contact Professor Brian Murchison at murchisonb@wlu.edu.

The New Book

    Today, I am celebrating the receipt of a new book. I just got my copy of Henry Petroski’s new book, To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure. I’ve already consumed (“read” is far too passive) a couple of chapters with my usual pleasure for his works.

    I suspect many (most?) law professors are not aware of Petroski’s work as he is a professor of civil engineering at Duke and writes about industrial design, not law. As with his other works (and the works of another non-lawyer I always read, Douglas Hofstadter),  Petroski always brings a broader perspective to my work. I’m beginning to suspect that those of us who teach law would learn significant lessons from our engineering colleagues.

    The triggering event for this post was combining Petroski’s discussion of designing products for failure (“The term ‘managed failure’ has been used to describe situations where a certain kind of failure mode is designed into an otherwise robust system so that it is ‘capable of successful misuse.’” Id. at 49–50) with our latest effort of strategic planning at U.Mass. Do we in the legal academy plan for failure? I fear not. Promising students (and none of us would admit any other kind to our program) don’t achieve the institution's expectations. The new faculty members who seemed so dynamic a few years ago when they were hired couldn’t translate their creative spark into teaching or scholarship. The Assistant Vice Dean for Institutional Improvement proved, not surprisingly, to achieve a purpose 180 degrees away from the job title.

    The most typical institutional response to all of these failures is to move the person out. The student will be placed on probation and then dismissed. The faculty member will not be promoted or will be denied tenure. With luck, the Dean of the Law School will convince someone in the university’s central administration to promote the Assistant Vice Dean out of the law school. In each case, the failure of the institution to positively affect the individual remains.