What Are Legal Teaching Positions?
Legal teaching jobs are positions where the individual educates others on legal matters. Such positions are typically housed in universities, although there are other types of institutions that can hire legal instructors. For example, some private schools may have a legal department that hires educators to teach courses in legal studies. There are many roles and responsibilities of professionals who hold legal teaching jobs. The duties of a legal educator will depend largely on what subject they teach. Legal educators can teach general information about the law, such as in a pre-law degree program, or they might be more specialized in a specific field, such as contracts, criminal procedures or intellectual property . Some legal educators work in college settings, while others work in high schools. Others might work with specific groups of people that will not usually be able to attend school, such as prisoners. Such educators might teach classes in an off-site program that is operated in a correctional facility. It is also possible to hold legal teaching jobs in online programs. Many legal educators have gone into academia to teach at online law schools or universities. Such instructors have uniform requirements as do other college professors, although they teach their entire classes virtually.
Requirements for Legal Educators
Qualifications in Legal Teaching Jobs
The body of knowledge and specialized skills that is required to advance in legal teaching positions is intrinsically connected to the higher level of education required. Specifically, an advanced degree is essential to legal teaching jobs. Most positions require advanced training in a specific area of the law, which is commonly signified by an LLM (Masters of Laws.) However, a JD (Juris Doctor) would also be an acceptable qualification for a legal professor. In addition, candidates should demonstrate excellence in writing and speaking in multiple languages.
In the academic world, experience is only one factor to assess qualifications. Professors are required to earn continuing education credits on an annual basis, which is a factor that is not required in most other fields. Legal educators must also maintain expertise in their area of instruction as well.
Some positions in higher education require certifications as well. These are not universal to legal teaching jobs, but they are valuable in many areas, such as an LLD or SJD for contract professors. Future law professors should keep an eye toward these legal certifications, especially if they intend to work at an elite business school.
How to Secure Legal Teaching Positions
Finding Legal Teaching Opportunities
For some lawyers seeking a transition or supplement to their legal career, an academic teaching position may seem like the "perfect job." But where do you start in your search for legal teaching positions, either at colleges and universities or non-academic institutions?
As with many jobs, an excellent resource for academics is the academic job board, Vitae. Beta, Vitae operates similarly to IndeedJobs for academic positions. It allows users to search for positions along the lines of institution type (2-year versus 4-year colleges), rank (assistant, associate, or full), field of study (such as law, higher education, ethics, etc.), and location of position. Users can also filter by staff positions (such as research assistants) and HEAR (Hiring Institute Equity Action and Research). Vitae is well-organized and easy to use, and the positions are updated regularly.
Another excellent resource may be your professional organizations, such as the Association of American Law Schools. The AALS has a member search where potential applicants can view their job postings. There is also a specific job listing on their website for law faculty positions. Members have an advantage here—it seems that non-members must pay $300 to access the member benefits, such as $135 for the job listing if he/she is a non-member. However, due to the cost of membership, the $300 may be a good investment. The AALS also has a support position section where potential applicants can find open staff positions at law schools.
There are also positions available outside of higher education institutions. For example, there is an Institute for Advanced Legal Studies Research Fellow. It appears that the term of this position runs for a year, but the right candidate could likely obtain another position at the end of the term. Assistant Directors, post-doctoral fellows, lecturers, and teaching fellows in a variety of law-related topics are also positions for which applicants may consider applying.
Another option is to consider non-legal positions in departments such as criminal justice, public administration, or other related areas. While some of these positions may not offer the prestige of a law school position, they may provide an easier path to an academic career.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Legal Teaching Positions
Teaching legal classes in college and law schools can be a challenge, since you must maintain your knowledge of current laws and get up to speed on any new case studies that your students may be studying. Staying current on this information is the only way that you can teach your students about the most contemporary legal issues. In addition, if you are teaching an introductory level or non-legal major class, then you may be faced with keeping these students engaged in a subject that they may find boring or complex. When you are teaching specialization courses, you will often have students with different levels of understanding of the subject, which can require you to constantly adjust your teaching style to accommodate them all.
The rewards of being involved in a legal teaching role can be numerous . Working with students to help them gain a deeper understanding of current legal issues can be very rewarding, especially if you are teaching an introductory level class. You can influence some of these students to pursue the study of law or legal issues further, which could ultimately lead to their future happiness and success in the field of law. There is also a lot to be said for personal knowledge. Giving legal lessons to students not only requires that you have a certain degree of legal knowledge, but it also makes you continue to learn the ins and outs of the field. On top of that, college professors get to enjoy making their own schedules and working while on holiday breaks, which is a benefit not commonly associated with other fields.
Advice for Future Legal Educators
Those looking to embark on a career in legal education should keep in mind that like all legal careers, the learning never really stops. While a J.D. provides the foundation for a career in law school teaching, it does not require home base in the classroom. Practical experience in private practice to scholarly research, and everything in between, are all important to a strong academic portfolio for legal teaching jobs . Both adjunct and full-time law faculty positions are found all over the country, but it is the highest quality of legal teaching jobs that lead to greater research and professional opportunities. Selectivity comes into play when considering the type of legal teaching job you are seeking. No matter what type of legal teaching job you are pursuing, here are some helpful tips for breaking into the field: A more comprehensive guide to pursuing a career in legal teaching is available here.