The Profession of Teaching Law

Law school professors are known for using a classroom technique known as the Socratic dialogue. Modeled after the teaching method employed by Socrates, this dialogue involves the teacher and student in a pursuit of the Greek ethical notion of "arete," which is variously defined as "virtue" or "the good." Quite unlike the Kingsfield version in The Paper Chase, the true Socratic dialogue, when properly wielded, does not entail the "brilliant" professor relentlessly pursuing the "ignorant" student. Instead, the dialogue involves a joint enterprise whereby the professor, by virtue of his or her knowledge and experience, guides the student to, and together with the student seeks the virtuous conclusion. Although law school teaching rarely reaches this Socratic ideal, in law, the pursuit of truth and knowledge takes place most actively in law schools.

The idea of going to law school to become a law professor, my students tell me, looks very much like playing the lottery. A lot of people buy tickets, very few people actually win, but the lucky few enjoy a life of luxury. Contrary to my students' beliefs, however, law teaching does not offer quite the same array of benefits as winning the lottery. Law professors are more likely to suffer the pressures of poverty than of wealth. Nonetheless, law teaching presents a challenging and enormously rewarding alternative to the practice of law.


Other Aspects of Law Teaching

In addition to teaching and scholarship, a law professor spends considerable time talking with students, serving on administrative committees and, for some, consulting or practicing. By far one of the most exciting aspects of the job is working with students; unfortunately, one of the most frustrating and disappointing aspects of the job is also working with students.

Law students are, on the whole, a gifted population. Although the practice of law pays relatively well, it is surely not enough to compensate for the long hours required doing something that you do not enjoy. The high attrition rate at major law firms indicates that this is a lesson that many learn eventually. For all concerned, including the teachers of law, it is better to learn this lesson sooner rather than later.

Beyond their other duties, law professors spend a considerable amount of time sitting on administrative committees. These committees serve as the skeleton that keeps the law school organism standing, if not always moving forward. Committee responsibilities range from setting admission policies, to screening applications for faculty positions, to recommending curriculum reform. While committee work can be a stultifying experience, its importance to the functioning of a law school cannot be overstated. For better or worse, law schools are democracies (in which only faculty vote), and as Sir Winston Churchill observed: "It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

Finally, because many law professors develop expertise in areas having great value in the marketplace, opportunities often arise for supplementing the modest professorial salary. This is especially true in the areas of tax and commercial transactions. Many law professors enjoy consulting for the chance it gives them to get out of the ivory tower and see how the other half lives. They do not choose to stay outside too long. Most law schools limit the hours that can be devoted to consulting and frown upon consulting practices that steal too much time from teaching and scholarship.

Becoming a Law Professor

A number of schools do give some weight to advanced law degrees (especially in the area of tax), but even those schools look closely at the candidate's law school record. As do most employers, law faculties seek to hire people who resemble themselves. In general, law schools look for individuals who attended a top-tier law school (preferably one of the top ten), had exceptional grades in law school (preferably in the top 10 percent), served on a law journal (preferably in a leadership capacity), and clerked for a federal court after graduation (preferably for a judge of some prominence).

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Obviously, virtually every student aspires to these achievements, for they advance any legal career. The reality is that of the many career alternatives for someone with aJ.D., law teaching is one of the most, if not the most, competitive. In 1980, twenty law schools generated most law professors, and over one third came from just five schools. In 1991, there were over a thousand applications for approximately 150 full-time faculty positions. The prospective student contemplating a teaching career, however remotely, is well advised to attend the most prestigious school he or she gets into and to work very hard to excel academically. While this is good advice to most prospective students, it is particularly important for the aspiring professor.

Beyond distinguishing yourself in the categories mentioned above, there are few things you can do to buttress your teaching credentials. Probably the single most important wildcard credential is a publishing record. The aspiring law professor should strive to publish while a student in law school and, if possible, publish significant scholarship after graduation. The pressures of practice, however, make publishing after law school quite difficult. One benefit of an advanced degree in law, a degree that otherwise might give you only a slight advantage, is that the year or two in school will give you time to demonstrate your scholarly promise.

Ironically, while an advanced law degree helps little, an advanced degree in another discipline might help considerably. The law is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary in focus and a variety of other disciplines play an important role in legal scholarship. In particular, the law borrows heavily from economics, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, literary theory, and rhetoric. An advanced degree in one of these disciplines marks you as having a special perspective to offer legal scholarship as well as your students. It will also give you the opportunity to publish while you are in graduate school and will give you a head start on the selection of topics in your early years of teaching.