The Faculty Lounge

Richland Woman Blues

Mississippi John Hurt released "Richland Woman Blues" on his 1963 album Folk Songs and Blues. I don't know whether he wrote it, or if it is traditional, but it is beautifully simple, especially with Hurt's gentle voice and his virtuoso cross-picking guitar. Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band covered it as "Richland Woman" in 1966 on See Reverse Side for Title, with Maria Muldaur's singing and Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur on guitar (it took two of them) in as perfect an arrangement as I have ever heard.

Anthony Niedwiecki Stepping Down as Mitchell Hamline Dean

Anthony Niedwiecki has announced that he will step down as dean of Mitchell Hamline School of Law in June 2024.  Niedwiecki became dean in 2020.  He will rejoin the faculty after a sabbatical.

Iowa Law Seeks Laterals in Property and Civ Pro

The University of Iowa College of Law anticipates hiring one to two lateral faculty members in the areas of Property Law and Civil Procedure.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: To apply, candidates should submit a letter of interest, CV, a list of three references, and a law school transcript through Jobs@UIOWA, https://jobs.uiowa.edu, refer to Requisition #74767.

Consistent with the mission and responsibilities of a top-tier public research university, we are interested in candidates who are recognized scholars and teachers and who will participate actively in the intellectual life of the College of Law.  In addition, we desire candidates with a demonstrated ability to maintain effective and respectful working relationships with the campus community to uphold a standard of cultural competency and respect for differences consistent with the College of Law’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. (For more on the College’s DEI commitments, see Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | College of Law - The University of Iowa (uiowa.edu).)  We also desire candidates who would bring significant new scholarly strengths to the College of Law. Candidates who can contribute to these goals are encouraged to apply and to identify their strengths in these areas.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required Qualifications for Associate Professor:

• Consistent record of ability as a teacher of law students.
• Consistent record of scholarly productivity.
• JD, PhD or other advanced degree related to the area of the candidate’s scholarly work.
• Experience teaching in the areas of property or civil procedure, as applicable.

Required Qualifications for Professor:

• Consistent record of high-quality teaching at all appropriate instructional levels.
• Scholarly achievement of high quality, accompanied by unmistakable evidence that the candidate is a nationally and, where applicable, internationally recognized scholar in the chosen field.
• Record of significant and effective service to the law school, university, and, if appropriate, to the profession.
• JD, PhD or other advanced degree related to the area of the candidate’s scholarly work.
• Experience teaching in the areas of property or civil procedure, as applicable.

Desirable Qualifications for Associate Professor and Professor:

• Demonstrated ability to maintain effective and respectful working relationships with the campus community to uphold a standard of cultural competency and respect for differences consistent with the College of Law’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Will bring significant new scholarly strengths to the College of Law.

For questions, please contact Chris Odinet, chair of the Faculty Appointments Committee at [email protected].

The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment free from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences.

Persons with disabilities may contact University Human Resources/Faculty and Staff Disability Services, (319) 335-2660 or [email protected], to inquire or discuss accommodation needs. 

Prospective employees may review the University Campus Security Policy and the latest annual crime statistics by contacting the Department of Public Safety at 319/335-5022. 

Michael Waterstone Named Dean of UCLA Law

UCLA Law has announced that Michael Waterstone will be its next dean.  He is currently dean at Loyola LA Law.  Waterstone, who holds a JD from the Harvard, will take over on August 15.

Hiring Announcement: University of Kansas School of Law (Visitor: Evidence/Torts)

From an email message I received today:

Visiting Associate Professor/Visiting Professor - Evidence/Torts

• The University of Kansas School of Law invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure track visiting professor/associate professor for the fall 2023 semester or the full 2023-24 academic year. Specific curricular needs include Evidence and Torts.

• Applicants should possess a J.D. from an accredited law school and have demonstrated outstanding academic and legal performance. Applications from members of underrepresented groups are encouraged, noting the value that differences bring to our organization, students, staff, faculty, and community. The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.

• Review of applications begins April 24 and will continue until the positions are filled. Initial interviews will be conducted via Zoom. Applications should be made online at http://www.employment.ku.edu/academic/24697BR and should include cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching/research interests and future plans, and the names of three references. For further information, contact Professor Kyle Velte, University of Kansas School of Law, 1535 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66045-7608, [email protected].

• KU is an EO/AAE. The university is committed to providing an equal opportunity for all qualified individuals to be considered for employment, benefits and conditions of employment, educational programs and activities, regardless of race, religion, color, ethnicity, sex, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information. Full policy at http://policy.ku.edu/IOA/nondiscrimination.

Hiring Announcement: University of Kansas School of Law (Visitor: Civil Procedure/Jurisdiction)

From an email message I received today:

Visiting Associate Professor/Visiting Professor – Civil Procedure/Jurisdiction

• The University of Kansas School of Law invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure track visiting professor/associate professor for the fall 2023 semester or the full 2023-24 academic year. Specific curricular needs include Civil Procedure and Jurisdiction.

• Applicants should possess a J.D. from an accredited law school and have demonstrated outstanding academic and legal performance. Applications from members of underrepresented groups are encouraged, noting the value that differences bring to our organization, students, staff, faculty, and community. The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.

• Review of applications begins April 24 and will continue until the positions are filled. Initial interviews will be conducted via Zoom. Applications should be made online at  
  http://www.employment.ku.edu/academic/24696BR and should include cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching/research interests and future plans, and the names of three references. For further information, contact Professor Kyle Velte, University of Kansas School of Law, 1535 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66045-7608, [email protected].

• KU is an EO/AAE. The university is committed to providing an equal opportunity for all qualified individuals to be considered for employment, benefits and conditions of employment, educational programs and activities, regardless of race, religion, color, ethnicity, sex, disability, national origin, ancestry, age, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information. Full policy at http://policy.ku.edu/IOA/nondiscrimination.

Rutgers Law Newark Seeks Visiting Professors

This just in:

Rutgers Law School is hiring visiting professors/instructors to teach courses for which it has curricular needs during the 2023-2024 Academic Year. We are seeking candidates with expertise in a range of areas, including, but not limited to Property, Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities and Business Organizations.  Depending on experience, individuals may hold the title of Visiting Professor of Law, Visiting Associate Professor of Law or Visiting Instructor.  We encourage applications and inquiries from candidates who contribute to the diversity of our faculty, including, but not limited to, people of color, people living with disabilities, and members of the LGBT community.  

Please submit your CV to Rutgers University: https://jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/196491

Please contact Caroline Young, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs with questions and inquiries, [email protected].  Application deadline is April 1,​ 2023. 

Did Robert Costello Breach Michael Cohen's Confidences?

My new essay is up at Law&Crime, discussing Robert Costello's grand jury testimony in the Stormy Daniels case. Here is the gist:

Attorney Robert Costello May Face Ethics Questions for 'Hatchet Job' on Michael Cohen

If Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg decides against indicting Donald Trump for the Stormy Daniels payoff, it will be at least in part thanks to the hatchet job attorney Robert Costello did on star prosecution witness Michael Cohen. Or so says Alan Dershowitz.

In a recent interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, the acclaimed former Harvard law professor opined that Costello's testimony before the grand jury "has proved that the main witness is going to be a perjuring liar on the witness stand." Thus, according to Dershowitz, if Bragg "uses Cohen as a witness, he could actually lose his bar license. It's unethical to put a witness on the stand who you know is lying, and he has to know that Cohen will be lying."

Dershowitz is right that there is a lurking ethics issue, but it is Costello's problem, not Bragg's.

You can read the entire essay at Law&Crime (not paywalled).

Should Law Students Get Paid for Their Work on Law Reviews?

My new essay at Washington Monthly is about a recent proposal to pay law students for their work as law journal editors. I am in favor, although not entirely for the reasons the students put forward.

Here is the gist:

Washington Monthly

Should Law Students Get Paid for Their Work on Law Reviews?

A group of NYU law students recently raised the novel proposition that they should be paid for their work as law journal editors. The students pointed out that they do a job “performed by full-time staff and tenured faculty in other academic disciplines.” 

It is a bargain that the great majority of law professors have been ready to make, receiving almost guaranteed publication somewhere and freedom from tedious work, in return for empowering students with editorial control, for nearly all scholarly publications.

Without reasonable compensation, many economically disadvantaged students must forgo the resume enhancement of journal membership in favor of a part-time job, creating an uneven playing field in recruiting interviews. And the idea may have other virtues as well, although not the ones put forward by the NYU students.

The New York University Law Review, for example, has over 60 senior editors and about 80 staff editors. And NYU has eight other journals, with probably at least 400 more editors. Even just $5,000 per semester—covering only about two hours daily at $25 per hour—would come to over $5 million annually.

NYU could, however, agree to pay for, say, 10 or 20 editors for each journal—at an annual cost of perhaps $200,000—while eliminating all other positions. That would quickly reveal just how important payment really is for the disappointed 400 students.

Without the near guarantee of publication somewhere, law professors would be motivated to improve their submissions, and many would probably give up writing altogether.

So, paying student editors seems like a win-win outcome for the quality of legal scholarship, although it would be a lose-lose for the students who would no longer have the opportunity to serve on journals and for the professors who may find themselves with nowhere to publish their completed articles.

You can read the entire essay at Washington Monthly.

Paul Paton Named Dean of Chapman Law

Chapman University School of Law has announced that Paul Paton will be its next dean.  He is currently a professor of law and ethics at the University of Alberta.  Paton, who holds a JD from the University of Toronto, will take over on June 30.