How does one become a law professor? Forum

[roranoa]

I've recently learned that the famous YLS professor Amy Chua became a law professor at Duke after she practiced law at Cleary for some time.

How does this work? I'm assuming that you only need a JD to become a professor in law. Then what else do you do to become a professor? Do you just privately write papers about certain subjects and wait till they get published and then apply for a job after that?

[Ruxin1]

I've recently learned that the famous YLS professor Amy Chua became a law professor at Duke after she practiced law at Cleary for some time.

How does this work? I'm assuming that you only need a JD to become a professor in law. Then what else do you do to become a professor? Do you just privately write papers about certain subjects and wait till they get published and then apply for a job after that?

This is like making a thread how do you become president, I heard Obama went to HLS and summered at Sidley. Now what?

[roranoa]

I've recently learned that the famous YLS professor Amy Chua became a law professor at Duke after she practiced law at Cleary for some time.

How does this work? I'm assuming that you only need a JD to become a professor in law. Then what else do you do to become a professor? Do you just privately write papers about certain subjects and wait till they get published and then apply for a job after that?

This is like making a thread how do you become president, I heard Obama went to HLS and summered at Sidley. Now what?

I admit that this is a weird question to ask and weird in its form. But I really don't know how else to start it off.

[ze2151]

one does not become a law professor anymore. one is lucky if one can become a lawyer these days.

law professor is not exactly a growth field, especially when people are predicting closures of low-ranking law schools that will flood the legal hiring market with experienced professors. find a new career path, friend.

[Br3v]

People are not giving you solid answers because it is incredibly hard to become a law professor in today's world, and you need to be aware of that.

The first thing you need to accomplish is go to a Law school that will allow you to teach. I would say probably half of the market (there are actually numbers out there/TLS'ers who know them so I will allow for correction on that percentage) is dominated by Harvard and Yale. Then Stanford, then probably Chicago. Virginia is about the last school in the T-14 that you stand more than a lucks chance at to entering academia.

The next step is generally to get a clerkship. Then you can start throwing you name into the ring, but you will probably have to find another job first because it will probably take a few hiring cycles at least for you to get hired.

Throughout all of this you also need to be writing and attempting to get your work published. Also a PhD (though probably not cost effective considering the chances of you actually landing the law professor job) makes you much more attractive to schools looking to hire. Economics tops the list as to which PhD helps the most.

[Nicholasnickynic]

1. Go to harvard or yale.
2. Be on law review.
3. Get something published.
4. WOrk at a presitegious law firm for a couple years.
5. Get some school to hire you so they can brag about your pedigree while you pull down 6 figures teaching kids shit you hardly know about because you practice for 2 years.

[roranoa]

People are not giving you solid answers because it is incredibly hard to become a law professor in today's world, and you need to be aware of that.

The first thing you need to accomplish is go to a Law school that will allow you to teach. I would say probably half of the market (there are actually numbers out there/TLS'ers who know them so I will allow for correction on that percentage) is dominated by Harvard and Yale. Then Stanford, then probably Chicago. Virginia is about the last school in the T-14 that you stand more than a lucks chance at to entering academia.

The next step is generally to get a clerkship. Then you can start throwing you name into the ring, but you will probably have to find another job first because it will probably take a few hiring cycles at least for you to get hired.

Throughout all of this you also need to be writing and attempting to get your work published. Also a PhD (though probably not cost effective considering the chances of you actually landing the law professor job) makes you much more attractive to schools looking to hire. Economics tops the list as to which PhD helps the most.

Thanks for the useful reply.

But are you saying that one has to write and try to get work published WHILE working at a law firm?

Btw, to those who keep telling me to consider another life path, I'm not looking into become a law professor anytime soon so don't worry.

[bk1]

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/careerservi ... awteaching

[The Duck]

1. Go to harvard or yale.
2. Be on law review.
3. Get something published.
4. WOrk at a presitegious law firm for a couple years.
5. Get some school to hire you so they can brag about your pedigree while you pull down 6 figures teaching kids shit you hardly know about because you practice for 2 years.

This, but if you could throw in a Supreme Court clerkship that'd be great as it'd help your odds greatly. (At my school it seems like nearly every professor did at least a CoA clerkship.)

[Br3v]

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/careerservi ... awteaching

OP read this

[roranoa]

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/careerservi ... awteaching

OP read this

This is super helpful!!! Thanks very much!

[roranoa]

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/careerservi ... awteaching

Thanks!! This is all I need!