The Faculty Lounge

Faded Love

"Faded Love" was written by Bob Wills, along with his father John and brother Billy Jack, in 1950. Although it has since become a classic of Western swing, it only did moderately well in its initial release -- reaching number eight on the C&W chart, and never crossing over. Cover versions have charted over the years, notably by Patsy Cline (not released until after she died in a plane crash), Jackie DeShannon, and Tompall & The Glazer Brothers. Willie Nelson's duet with Ray Price, with Crystal Gayle singing harmony on the chorus, reached number three on the Hot 100. 

John Wills lifted the melody from a much older song, "Darling Nellie Gray," written in 1856 by Benjamin Hanby (it is a fascinating story, so don't miss it at the bottom of this post).

Hiring Announcement: Faulkner University, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law

From a recent email message:

Faulkner University's Thomas Goode Jones School of Law (Montgomery, AL) invites entry-level or junior-level applications for a tenure-track faculty position, beginning in Fall 2023.  The law school welcomes applications from candidates across all areas of the law; however, the law school's primary hiring interests are Criminal Law and Procedure.  Materials should be submitted online at https://faulkner.applicantpro.com/jobs.  Questions may be addressed to Professor Andy Olree at [email protected].

Faulkner University's Thomas Goode Jones School of Law (Montgomery, AL) invites applications for a clinical faculty position overseeing the school's Mediation Clinic, beginning in Fall 2023.  The school is particularly interested in candidates with practical experience and academic interest in dispute resolution models.  Materials should be submitted online at https://faulkner.applicantpro.com/jobs.  Questions may be addressed to Professor Andy Olree at [email protected].

 

Catholic Law Seeks Faculty

This just in:

Catholic Law seeks to fill several faculty positions to begin in Fall 2023. We are seeking candidates for entry-level and lateral positions, tenure-track or contract, in a wide variety of subjects, including Clinical Education, Lawyering Skills, Civil Procedure, Family Law, Trusts and Estates, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Corporate and Securities Law, International Law, and Contracts and Commercial Law.

Candidates in Clinical Education may have opportunities to teach in our existing clinics but also may propose new clinical areas. We are particularly interested in clinical offerings compatible with participation by our evening students.

We are also seeking candidates whose teaching and research interests may be in any of the above subject matter areas (or others) who are also interested in participating in our University’s Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies.

Catholic Law is a national leader in preparing students of all faiths for the practice of law and is an integral part of The Catholic University of America, the national university of the Catholic Church, located on a beautiful residential campus in the heart of the nation’s capital.

Candidates must possess a J.D. or equivalent, superior academic credentials, and relevant professional experience, such as teaching, legal practice, or judicial clerkships. The application should include a letter of interest, CV, references, sample publications, and a personal statement addressing how your research, teaching, and service would make a distinctive contribution to the mission of our University and law school and the vision of Catholic education outlined in the Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities, Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

Interested applicants should email their materials to the attention of Dean Stephen Payne at [email protected].

As a Catholic institution, our mission commits us to respecting the “dignity of each human person,” and to welcoming scholars who will bring a “diversity of backgrounds, religious affiliations, viewpoints, and contributions” to the law school’s vibrant intellectual community. We recognize the importance of diversity in our faculty and encourage applications from those with diverse backgrounds.

The Catholic University of America is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Virginia Law Seeks Research Assistant Professor of Law/Fellow for Law and Democracy Center

This just in:

The University of Virginia School of Law seeks a Research Assistant Professor of Law to serve as the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy Fellow (“Karsh Fellow”). This non-tenure-track Academic General Faculty position will start near the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year and have a fixed-term appointment of two years. The position offers compensation of $70,000 plus benefits.

The Karsh Center is a nonpartisan legal institute at the Law School. The Center’s mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of the principles and practices necessary for a well- functioning, pluralistic democracy. These include civil discourse and democratic dialogue, civic engagement and citizenship, ethics and integrity in public office, and respect for the rule of law. The Center supports these essential features of our democratic life through rigorous and cutting-edge legal and interdisciplinary scholarship, curricular offerings, and academic programs such as conferences and workshops. The Center’s aim is to advance the values of law and democracy within the academy and in public discourse.

 

Ex-Presidents Who Betrayed Their Country

No, that isn’t a Jeopardy category. It’s my new column for NBC News.

Here is the gist. (I did not write the headline.)

The former U.S. president who was more traitorous than Trump

It’s important to keep in mind that Donald Trump is not — yet — the worst ex-president in U.S. history. Trump has made a serious effort to dishonor his post-presidency, of course. He likely has encouraged future insurrections by vowing to pardon the rioters who sacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And he’s stashed boxes of top secret documents at his home at Mar-a-Lago, raising serious national security concerns.

But John Tyler, a Whig who held office from 1841 to 1845, was even worse. Tyler actually tried to destroy the Union by joining the Confederacy’s war of treason in defense of slavery. Tyler’s treachery is worth remembering as a warning about the real danger a former president can pose. 

You can read the entire piece here.

Rosh HaShana

 

 

Taboo Trades Podcast: Indentured Servitude, Specific Performance, and the Thirteenth Amendment with Nate Oman

In this episode, we continue our discussion with Nathan B. Oman, the W. Taylor Reveley III Research Professor and Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Markets at William & Mary School of Law. Nate specializes in Contract Law, the Economic Analysis of Law, Jurisprudence, Law and Religion, and Legal History. Today, we’re discussing his 2009 article, Specific Performance and the Thirteenth Amendment, published in the Minnesota Law Review.

As I mentioned in episode 1, the article first came to my attention this summer, when the internet erupted with suggestions that the specific performance clause in the Elon Musk (more precisely, X Holdings) merger agreement with Twitter wasn’t enforceable because of the 13^th Amendment. As you heard in our last episode, Nate strongly disagrees with that take.

I’ve split my discussion with Nate into two parts. In Episode 1, largely driven by questions from UVA Law 3Ls Bridget Boyd and Jenn Scoler, we discussed the Musk-Twitter litigation and the various provisions of the merger agreement, including the specific performance provision and the termination fee. In this episode, we delve more deeply into Nate’s analysis of the scope of the 13^th amendment’s prohibition against indentured servitude and its relation to the specific performance of personal service contracts. As always, we spend some time on examples from the world of sports . . . because hey, we’re in Virginia.

 

 

Links:

Nathan B. Oman faculty bio https://law2.wm.edu/faculty/bios/fulltime/nboman.php

 

Nathan B. Oman, Specific Performance and the Thirteenth Amendment, 93 MINN. L. REV. 2020 (2009). https://www.minnesotalawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Oman_MLR.pdf

 

Amendment and Plan of Merger by and among X Holdings I, Inc., X Holdings II, Inc. and Twitter, Inc. dated as of April 25, 2022 https://kimberlydkrawiec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Musk-Twitter-Agreement.pdf

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the School of Law

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the School of Law. The Dean will work closely with the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and other deans and academic leaders, under the overall University leadership of Chancellor Dr. Johnson O. Akinleye.

North Carolina Central University is a top-ranking historically black university founded in 1910 in Durham, North Carolina, by pharmacist and religious educator Dr. James E. Shepard. The university serves as a hub for intellectual dialogue and discourse and a source of academic distinction and game-changing innovation for North Carolina, the United States and the world.

The next Dean of NCCU School of Law must be someone with vision, tenacity, and a heart dedicated to service. The next Dean must possess an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset that embraces “grit,” because while the landscape for the practice and teaching of law is undergoing dramatic change, the need for well trained, practice ready lawyers continues to be critical in underserved communities. Of equal importance, the next Dean must understand, promote, and advocate for the Law School’s founding mission, providing an opportunity for an outstanding legal education to those who continue to be underrepresented in the legal profession because of their ethnicity, gender, or the communities from which they come.