Fans of great Latin American novels would smile at the title above, or perhaps, much like my many other musings, few ever seem to understand them. A function of my brilliance, or more likely, pedestrian thinking? I bet I can guess what you are thinking right now. In any event, on to more challenging questions. During these difficult times, I have had the privilege to interview candidates, assist interviewees with mock interviews, and in a not-so-law related setting, been an interviewee myself. In each instance, I have grown to appreciate the difficulty of making sound hiring decisions based on classic criteria, but in the time of Corona, I never expected other matters would become so significant. Some of these included the lighting in the room, camera angles, etc…. Not sure how this cuts for candidates, but without question, these are trying times for institutions trying to make important decisions. I also wonder how such challenges may level the playing field for women and other non-traditional candidates–we are all the same height during a Zoom call, for instance. This fact alone I suspect is more relevant, especially on gender, than many may realize–this screams for research from respected colleagues like Professor Meera Deo. Professor Deo, let's chat?
These and related issues make me think of recent dean hires like Beto Juarez at Nova. I wonder how much influence technology played in that search? Personally, I think Beto is a wonderful pick, and Nova hit a homerun. He is experienced, a kind person, and an impressive leader. The fact he also looks like the lead in a Wall Street film, I suspect didn't hurt. But other questions come to mind, especially earlier in the year when the fear over the pandemic, rightly or wrongly, seemed to be heightened. Were some searches conducted completely via Zoom? I hope not. If any of you have such an experience, I would love to learn of it. On a related front, how much will the finalists at Colorado dean search benefit from or will be challenged by technology?
If that is tough, how about the challenges faced by new teaching candidates? Will there be any impact on diversity? In other words, will faculty, which are historically not very diverse, reach out to close friends and mentors? If so, how many will promote diverse candidates? Were LLM programs focusing on law teaching affected by the pandemic? If so, how? I know at least a few schools reached out to me concerning the Olivas Faculty Recruitment Initiative. I was thrilled to suggest a few names to each. Much to my surprise, it was more challenging than I expected to convince mentees ( I call them FRI Fellows) to at times apply for positions–ah, the blissfulness of youth.
So for now, I wonder if the most appropriate advice to candidates in these challenging times would be to follow Gabriel Garcia Marquez's advice and “Tell him yes. Even if you are dying of fear, even if you are sorry later, because whatever you do, you will be sorry all the rest of your life if you say no.” Or should hiring institutions, be cautious of Zoom and perhaps, also like Marquez, say to themselves "“Today, when I saw you, I realized that what is between us is nothing more than an illusion.”
Not sure if you want the perspective of an American who has spent most of his career (except two years at Georgia in the beginning) teaching at non-US law schools, but I was recently appointed Professor of International Law and Security at the University of Copenhagen through a search that was conducted solely via Zoom. The appointment process is a bit different outside the US, because non-US law schools don't do small meetings with faculty and students. Instead, the process is more limited and more formal, involving a long interview with the appointments committee and an academic presentation (usually 20 minutes) followed by questions. (The process for my chair also included model 15-minute testimony to an imaginary parliamentary committee, because it's funded by the Danish Ministry of Defence and the leading political parties.)
To be honest,I don't think much was lost via Zoom — I could see all my interviewers and they could see me. The only "negative," such as it was, was that I could not see the audience when I gave my lecture, because I used the share screen function for powerpoint slides. But even that had an upside, because it allowed me to put my extensive notes up on the screen without the audience seeing them, making the lecture particularly easy to deliver smoothly.
I hope that women and scholars from groups that are underrepresented in the academy were not disadvantaged by the search being conducted solely via Zoom. I can't really say, not knowing who the other finalists were. Then again, I'm a straight white male, so perhaps that says something in and of itself.
What I feel is most likely to come for hiring during covid is that it will look similar to law school admissions. Firms will look toward static variables such as GPA and law school and hire based on that alone. While they will still likely do virtual interviews its not the same.