Biglaw to law professor?

[Anonymous]

DC senior biglaw associate, completely burned out from practice. HYS, appellate clerkship. I'd love to teach, though my only law review publication was my student note from seven years ago. How hard is it to get a tenure-track job as a law professor?

[Anonymous]

My close friend did it. He did have a PhD already but much worse credentials. Bang out a couple of publications and see where it takes you.

[Anonymous]

HA.... well see if you can be a lecturer at Mason or AU to start.... then figure it out from there once you have some contacts.

[Anonymous]

I second the recommendation to try it out as a lecturer or adjunct. A few years ago we interviewed a former AUSA who was working as a law professor. He told us he was burned out and jumped to teaching but subsequently realized that it was not all he hoped it would be. As I am sure you know, there is considerable pressure to publish plus it's much harder to get tenure these days.

[Anonymous]

Very hard. The academic job market is very tough and most schools won't give much weight to your Biglaw experience. (I remember my prof who proudly spoke of never having taken the bar, never mind practicing.)

To have any chance, you need to get some academic publications under your belt before hitting the job market, which of course will be hard to do while working in Biglaw. You probably could get an adjunct gig, but you would be better off spending that time writing since teaching really isn't that important in terms of hiring.

Also, for you to have any chance of making this work, you will have to be very geographically flexible. The chance of a job around here or in another area or are excited to live in isn't that high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second the recommendation to try it out as a lecturer or adjunct. A few years ago we interviewed a former AUSA who was working as a law professor. He told us he was burned out and jumped to teaching but subsequently realized that it was not all he hoped it would be. As I am sure you know, there is considerable pressure to publish plus it's much harder to get tenure these days.

Really? Law school tenure rates are astronomically high compared to other fields. Basically everyone gets tenure.

[Anonymous]

Incredibly hard. Only 77 people were hired into tenure-reack jobs in the whole country last year. http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2018/05/spring-self-reported-entry-level-hiring-report-2018.html

Publications are the most important thing. Most people these days are doing a fellowship or VAP first. Being an adjunct is not an advantage.

[Anonymous]

Not easy OP. A lot of law schools are cutting sections and laying off professors. You should try getting an adjunct job first and then try to parlay that into something more FT. You will need to publish.

[Anonymous]

Even SCOTUS clerks have trouble getting jobs as tenure-track law professors. So much of it is about who you know, and whether the right professors will make calls on your behalf. Doing a visiting professorship at a school like Harvard or Chicago is a good way to make these connections, but even then it is not guaranteed. And if you're a visiting prof for two years and strike out on the academic job market, it would be extremely hard to get back into practice.

[Anonymous]

lol

[Anonymous]

Prediction: OP will next post about "going into government" as if that is another walk in the park.

[Anonymous]

Most senior biglaw associates would do a better job teaching their students practical skills and connecting them with jobs. But the tenure system means incredibly low turnover. The professors who have those jobs often have PhDs and no practice experience.

OP’s best shot is a clinical position, though those are tough to get. And most have lower pay and less security.

[Anonymous]

I remember a law professor back in the day giving a seminar on how to do it and basically you had to start laying the track in law school, and never stop publishing.

[Anonymous]

My friend was lead prosecutor on an incredibly high-profile trial that earned him tons of glowing media coverage. He applied for law professor jobs and was roundly rejected because he didn't have enough publications about esoteric crap.

[Anonymous]

You have to have publications in main law reviews and top recommendations. It's not something you get just by being smart and having some prestigious stuff on your resume.

The people I know who transitioned from practice to teaching got fellowships at law schools to produce articles, got jobs as legal writing teachers, or clinical jobs.