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In light of the recent announcement that Larry Kramer is stepping down as Dean of Stanford Law School, I was wondering how (and whether) I ought to incorporate the news into my law school decision. For full disclosure, I am choosing between HLS and SLS. Although I have visited both schools and spoken with numerous professors and students, I am still undecided. How important is the news? If I choose SLS, will the transition to a new dean offer new opportunities or hardships?

Resignation of the dean is bound to expose Stanford for the TTT it truly is. OCI will reflect this new development. It's going to be toiling in obscurity for a long time.

You should ED to ASU instead, it's on the rise.

No. It will have exactly ZERO effect. Deans come and go constantly. Nobody cares.

Oh and

tfleming09 wrote:Resignation of the dean is bound to expose Stanford for the TTT it truly is. OCI will reflect this new development. It's going to be toiling in obscurity for a long time.

You should ED to ASU instead, it's on the rise.

TITCR

,

It's only important if the dean you are talking about is the Valvoline Dean.

While I appreciate the humor (I think all future lawyers could use more), I was wondering if someone had a serious answer to my question about whether the leadership of the law school should factor into my decision process?

huck2012 wrote:While I appreciate the humor (I think all future lawyers could use more), I was wondering if someone had a serious answer to my question about whether the leadership of the law school should factor into my decision process?

arhmcpo wrote:No. It will have exactly ZERO effect. Deans come and go constantly. Nobody cares.

Deans are primarily hired to: (1) raise money; and (2) bring in faculty.

Neither of those will be affected dramatically for your 3 years at SLS, or in the long run because, being SLS, they will always be able to attract a famous, respected, and capable dean (just as YHS and HLS will always be able to do so).

monkey85 wrote:Deans are primarily hired to: (1) raise money; and (2) bring in faculty.

Neither of those will be affected dramatically for your 3 years at SLS, or in the long run because, being SLS, they will always be able to attract a famous, respected, and capable dean (just as YHS and HLS will always be able to do so).

Actually, I too am choosing between HLS and SLS and am slightly concerned about the new dean situation. Recent alums have told me that Dean Kramer had a great relationship with the students and often made calls to prospective employers on their behalf. SLS is a tiny school and the dean has the potential to have a significant impact on the lives of individual students. It was definitely a 'pro' for SLS on my list of pros/cons.

This is just a fact of life. People come and go. And it is not to say that you won't enroll in the other school and that dean will leave shortly thereafter. So go with the school that fits best, not the dean that fits best. This should be a non-factor.

How important are deans? Very important. How much should Dean Kramer's departure affect your decision? Very little. The success of SLS predates the current dean and will continue after he leaves. Harvard has done alright since Dean Kagan took that public interest job in DC.

Perhaps (perhaps!) this would matter at a mid-tier school on the ascendancy. For example, let's pretend ASU's rise was due primarily to a transformational dean who attracted outstanding faculty and dramatically expanded the number of firms at OCI. If it seemed unlikely that the school would get that lucky again, then maybe it'd be worth factoring into your decision. But I think you can safely assume that SLS will find a competent and well-connected administrator to replace Dean Kramer.

Good luck with this "tough" decision. I don't envy you....except that I totally do!

Also, this isn't something you should use for leverage, unless you want to make the people reading that letter laugh.

monkey85 wrote:Deans are primarily hired to: (1) raise money; and (2) bring in faculty.

Neither of those will be affected dramatically for your 3 years at SLS, or in the long run because, being SLS, they will always be able to attract a famous, respected, and capable dean (just as YHS and HLS will always be able to do so).

This is true, though I would add that there are ways in which individual deans can make an impact. I'm a joint degree student, and I've definitely benefitted from Kramer's heavy emphasis on making SLS interdisciplinary and obscenely joint-degree friendly. I don't expect that direction to change now that he's leaving, but I'm not sure that joint degrees would be quite what they are today without his influence. So there are ways in which particular deans can leave a lasting impact. That said, there's almost no way to know these things prospectively, and I don't think you should base your decision to attend on it unless you have a really good reason to.

Thanks for all of the very helpful answers! Although, after reading this ABA article written by Kramer, I am nonetheless disappointed I won't have the opportunity to learn under his leadership if I choose Stanford: http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/a ... ekly_email

Actually, changes in dean can effect much at the school. Some deans are pro-faculty and essentially strengthen the faculty's hold on school policies. Some deans are brought in to raise $$$ for student scholarships and better faculty. Some deans are industry-connected all stars who may have a meaningful effect on employment at a school.

TaipeiMort wrote:Actually, changes in dean can effect much at the school. Some deans are pro-faculty and essentially strengthen the faculty's hold on school policies. Some deans are brought in to raise $$$ for student scholarships and better faculty. Some deans are industry-connected all stars who may have a meaningful effect on employment at a school.

It's fucking Stanford, bro.

tfleming09 wrote:

TaipeiMort wrote:Actually, changes in dean can effect much at the school. Some deans are pro-faculty and essentially strengthen the faculty's hold on school policies. Some deans are brought in to raise $$$ for student scholarships and better faculty. Some deans are industry-connected all stars who may have a meaningful effect on employment at a school.

It's fucking Stanford, bro.

It wont effect Stanford negatively. I'm just talking about the deans in general.