The Faculty Lounge

Angelic Voices

"Seven Spanish Angels" was released by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles in 1984, becoming Charles's most successful hit on the Country charts. It was conceived by Troy Seals and Eddie Setser as a sort of Marty Robbins song, but Robbins had died in 1982. They offered it to Willie Nelson, who agreed to record it, but Ray Charles's producer had heard the demo and suggested it as a duet. Brilliant idea.

Hiring Announcement: Campbell University School of Law

Campbell University School of Law is seeking a dynamic individual to serve as the Director of Competitive Advocacy and Trial Advocacy Instructor. Campbell Law’s Competitive Advocacy Program has been recognized as one of the top advocacy programs in the nation by both the ABA and U.S. News and World Report, and its Mock Trial, Moot Court, Negotiations, Arbitration, and Client Counseling teams compete nationally and internationally. This position is a twelve-month, full-time, non-tenure track administrative and instructor level position. 

As the Director of Competitive Advocacy, the successful applicant will oversee the highly successful and nationally ranked Competitive Advocacy Program, including the Mock Trial, Moot Court, Negotiations, Arbitration, and Client Counseling teams. The successful applicant will direct and manage the entire Competitive Advocacy Program for the law school and will, in consultation with the Dean, Vice Dean, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Director of Trial Advocacy, determine the scope and range of competitions each year. Directing and managing the entire Competitive Advocacy Program will include: (1) supervising advocacy support staff (as provided); (2) developing advocacy competitions that will be hosted and sponsored by Campbell University School of Law; (3) working with the Director of Development to generate resources for the Competitive Advocacy Program; (4) cooperating with the Director of Trial Advocacy to promote a consistent approach to trial advocacy instruction; (5) overseeing travel and lodging arrangements for competitive teams; (6) setting financial guidelines for permissible expenditures of competitive teams while travelling; (7) approving for payment all expense reimbursement requests for competitive advocacy programs; (8) developing fair and equitable selection procedures for every category of student competitions; and (9) working with alumni, faculty and staff members, and practitioners to recruit, hire, and supervise advocacy team coaches. 

The Director of Competitive Advocacy will also serve as an Instructor at the law school, teaching one or more of the performance sections for the required Trial Advocacy course, under the supervision of the Director of Trial Advocacy. The Trial Advocacy Instructor position is a full-time, non-tenure instructor position. 

For additional information, please click here.

More Dirty Tricks at St. Thomas University College of Law

I recently reported that St. Thomas University has reinstated my client Professor Gilbert.  Unfortunately, they continue to violate her rights and act in bad faith in several ways. 

Perhaps the most egregious violation of Professor Gilbert’s rights by STU is the release of her reinstatement letter, a confidential personnel document, to the ABA Journal, with the specific intent that portions of the letter would be made public.  The reinstatement letter also serves as notice of the school’s intent to institute dismissal procedures and contains a list of “Facts Giving Rise to the Question as to Whether Dismissal is Warranted.”  The release of such a letter is contrary to law, contrary to STU policy, and a gross violation of Professor Gilbert’s privacy rights.  STU’s intent, which unfortunately the ABA Journal facilitated, was that some of the more salacious accusations would be reported, thereby damaging Professor Gilbert’s reputation, and hindering her ability to find future employment, should she end up departing STU.  Specifically, the letter contained a new allegation, which was not part of the previous notice of termination, that Professor Gilbert had an “inappropriate relationship” with a recently graduated law student.  STU knew that the previous termination letter which did not include such an allegation had been made public as part of the lawsuit I filed on Professor Gilbert’s behalf (I also posted it here on TFL), so that the inclusion of this new allegation would be considered newsworthy.  However, unlike the other allegations in the letter, which contain at least some reference to actual facts, this accusation is completely fact-free.  The alleged student is not named, and no details are provided as to what made the alleged relationship inappropriate.  It is alleged that the relationship “violated multiple policies in the Law School Faculty Handbook” but no specific policies or provisions of the Handbook are mentioned.   To be clear, Professor Gilbert categorically denies having any inappropriate relationship with any former student, ever.  In fact, Professor Gilbert has no idea who or what STU is talking about.   In our view, this is a clear effort to defame Professor Gilbert with intentionally false statements.  In light of their outrageous conduct, STU has been advised to expect a defamation lawsuit and to immediately cease and desist from further defamatory actions.

Washington and Lee Law Seeks Tenure/Tenure-Track Clinical Professors

This just in:

The Washington and Lee University School of Law is excited to announce a search for a tenure-track or tenured faculty member to direct a clinic focusing on immigrant rights. A long-time leader in experiential legal education, W&L Law has invested significantly in clinics, externships, and practicum courses, and requires students to complete a number of experiential credits that significantly exceeds the minimum required for accreditation. We seek a legal education professional who will embrace and meaningfully contribute to our close-knit, collegial, and intellectually vibrant community. To that end, clinical faculty at W&L have full voting and governance rights.

W&L established its Immigrant Rights Clinic in 2013 and is excited to continue the clinic’s decade-long commitment to serving Virginia’s immigrant community in the Shenandoah Valley and beyond.  Consistent with the desire to address the pressing needs of immigrant populations in the U.S., the law school seeks a director dedicated to the cause of immigrant rights. We invite interested candidates to imagine this clinic with any substantive focus that will advance that goal. The clinical curriculum at W&L prioritizes a client-centered approach to clinical advocacy and teaching, but the precise focus of the clinic’s immigrant rights advocacy will depend on the experience and vision of the next director.   

We invite applications for a position as Assistant Clinical, Associate Clinical, or Clinical Professor of Law to begin July 1, 2025, or sooner. The ideal candidate will have several years of practice experience in the field of immigrant rights; a demonstrated commitment to fostering diverse and inclusive educational or work environments; experience in clinical pedagogy and excellence in the teaching and supervision of law students; and an interest in contributing to practical and/or scholarly conversations concerning immigrant rights.

 

Hiring Announcement: Loyala University New Orleans College of Law

From a recent email message:

Two different clinical positions:

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, a Jesuit institution, invites applications for a full-time clinic faculty position starting the 2025-26 academic year. This clinic teaching position is focused on clinic instruction through a litigation docket with law student practitioners that meets the requirements of both La. S.Ct. R. XX and the mission of the Loyola Law Clinic. We seek a dynamic lawyer- advocate-teacher with a strong record of leadership in the field. Clinic litigation areas for this position include, but are not limited to: elder law, public benefits, employment, disability, civil rights, criminal defense, and wrongful convictions. The applicant should identify the civil teaching/practice area in their letter of interest. The Law Clinic advances a dual mission of providing experiential, live-client clinical experience for law students and outstanding legal representation to underserved clients and community partners. The Law Clinic is dedicated to fulfilling the Jesuit Mission of pursuing justice while exposing students to critical legal needs in the community. The Law Clinic serves as a large, well-respected social justice law organization within the University and around the region and country. Outstanding junior lateral candidates are encouraged to apply.   For additional information, click here.

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, a Jesuit institution, invites applications for a clinic faculty position, Children and Families Justice Clinic section. The Law Clinic advances a dual mission of providing experiential, live-client clinical experience for law students and outstanding legal representation to underserved clients and community partners. The Clinic is dedicated to fulfilling the Jesuit Mission of pursuing justice while educating persons for others by exposing students to critical legal needs in the community. Clinic faculty must have a demonstrated commitment to justice.  Loyola is committed to building and supporting a vibrant, multicultural, and diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. As such we encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented populations.  Appointment and rank will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.  Outstanding junior lateral candidates are encouraged to apply.  For additional information, click here.

St. Thomas University Law School Reinstates Fired Professor

Following up on my earlier post, I am pleased to report that on August 27, STU College of Law  (Miami) rescinded the termination letter issued by the Dean and reinstated my client Professor Lauren Gilbert with full pay and benefits, including back pay.   Although the University has notified Professor Gilbert of its intent to seek her termination, they have agreed to provide her with the full range of contractual due process rights set forth in the law school faculty handbook as we demanded in our Complaint for Declaratory Judgment.   Professor Gilbert continues to maintain that there is no adequate cause for termination and is confident that she will be retained by a jury of her tenured faculty peers if the matter goes to a formal hearing.  

With a September 3 deadline looming to respond to the lawsuit, I consider the University’s complete capitulation to the demands in our lawsuit to be an implicit concession that their position that a tenured professor could be treated as an at-will employee and summarily terminated was legally indefensible.  

 

Thank you to the many law students, law professors, law school administrators and others who expressed their support for Professor Gilbert.

Call for Papers: Federalism Scholarship Roundtable

From a recent email message:

The University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative (SDRI) is pleased to announce a Federalism Scholarship Roundtable, to be held on April 25, 2025. The Roundtable will be co-hosted by Professors Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon of Wisconsin Law and Professors Will Baude, Bridget Fahey, and Alison LaCroix of the University of Chicago Law School, and will be held at the University of Chicago Law School in Chicago, Illinois.   

The purpose of the Roundtable is to bring together scholars from around the country to present new academic research and works in progress on federalism, and to continue to build community in the field of state public law. We construe federalism broadly for the purpose of the event; we welcome submissions from a wide range of subfields and methodologies, as well as submissions that consider the topic from the perspective of states or subnational institutions.    

We anticipate workshopping approximately eight papers over the course of one day, with each paper introduced by a designated commentator. Scholars who have already committed to attend the event as commentators are listed below. 

Scholars interested in presenting a paper at the Roundtable should submit a one-to-two-page abstract by November 15, 2024 to SDRI’s Executive Director Bree Grossi Wilde at [email protected]. (You may also contact her with any questions.) Applicants should include their title, institutional affiliation, and number of years teaching in the academy. Applicants will be notified by mid-December whether or not they have been selected to participate. Complete submissions will be due by early April 2025.  

All travel costs, accommodations, and meals will be provided, including a group dinner the night of April 24, 2025.  In addition, participants will receive a $1,000 honorarium. 

For the complete announcement, click here.

University of Dayton Hiring Notice

The University of Dayton School of Law invites applications for multiple tenure-track Assistant Professor positions to begin August 16, 2025. Areas of need include contracts, business organizations, torts, criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, family law, property, wills and trusts, secured transactions, and tax. The School of Law has a history of innovation and is a leader in international education. We have one of the first online JD programs, several successful non-JD programs, and fourteen law school partners around the world.

At the University of Dayton, we value inclusive excellence because we recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to academic and institutional excellence. Inclusive excellence requires a comprehensive, cohesive and collaborative alignment of infrastructure, resources and actions. We strive to be active, intentional, and sustain engagement with and celebration of diversity in every dimension of institutional life. Because we seek a workforce with a wide range of perspectives and experiences, we encourage all candidates to apply.

To apply, you must submit a cover letter and CV no later than September 20, 2024 at https://employment.udayton.edu/cw/en-us/job/502086/assistant-professor-multiple-positions

Illinois Tech Chicago-Kent Law Seeks Faculty

This just in:

Illinois Tech Chicago-Kent College of Law is conducting two searches for candidates to join our faculty.

1. Chicago-Kent seeks to hire a tenured faculty member with a specialty in labor and employment law to join our vibrant and nationally recognized intellectual community and to serve as the Director of the renowned Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace (ILW). Chicago-Kent’s ILW is a leader within the academy and bar in research, training, and dialogue on the law that governs the workplace. We invite applications from candidates with a demonstrated scholarly record and reputation in labor and employment law as well as the ability to teach various classes within the labor and employment curriculum. Preferably, the successful candidate will have administrative experience that shows the capacity to lead a preeminent law school program. Inquiries can be sent to Greg Reilly at [email protected].
2. Chicago-Kent seeks to hire one or more additional faculty members. This general search will focus on entry-level or junior lateral candidates. We have hiring needs in a variety of areas, including (but not limited to): commercial law, labor and employment law, administrative law/legislation-regulation, property/land use, torts, antitrust, health law, race and the law, criminal law, civil procedure, international law, and tax law. While we will be consulting the Faculty Appointments Register (FAR) through the American Association of Law Schools (AALS), inquiries can be sent to Greg Reilly at [email protected].

Chicago-Kent is committed to increasing the diversity of our faculty and continuing our dedication to providing opportunities for all. Since our founding as a law school serving Chicago’s immigrant and working-class communities, we have been committed to fostering the inclusion of underrepresented groups in the legal profession.

Illinois Institute of Technology is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA equal opportunity employer dedicated to building a community of excellence, equity, inclusion and diversity. It is committed to fostering an inclusive environment and actively seeks applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities regardless of race, color, sex, marital status, religion, national origin, creed, disability, age, unfavorable discharge from the military, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation including gender identity and expression, order of protection status, and/or genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment.

Start Date: July 1, 2025