I agree with most of co-blogger David Bernstein’s advice to aspiring law professors. In particular, David is absolutely right to reject the view that you can’t have a major impact on the scholarly and public debate in your field unless you’re at a top 15 school. I had the same fear when I was on […]
Archive | Academia
Advice to Faculty Candidates: Be Wary of Advice from Your References
A wildly disproportionate percentage of law school faculty graduate from a very few top law schools, especially Harvard and Yale. Not surprisingly, graduates of these schools turn to their mentors and references for advice on how to navigate the teaching market. Some of these professors give sound advice. But the very fact that these folks […]
Brian Leiter on Freud Again
I foolishly managed to once again entangle myself in a debate with Brian Leiter. There is at least one good reason not to try to engage in a reasoned blog debate with Leiter, which is that he doesn’t believe in it: I am sometimes presented with the following criticism: “Your rhetorical style won’t persuade anyone […]
“No Longer Anonymous, But Still Not Quite Right”
At Prawfsblawg, Paul Horwitz offers useful perspective on “Inside the Law School Scam” and its author’s decision to reveal his identity.
The Education Bubble
The Atlantic‘s Daniel Indiviglio highlights the enormous growth in student loan debt over the past twelve years. Indiviglio comments: This chart looks like a mistake, but it’s correct. Student loan debt has grown by 511% over this period. In the first quarter of 1999, just $90 billion in student loans were outstanding. As of the […]
The LawProf Behind “Inside the Law School Scam”
In the latest post at Inside the Law School Scam, titled “An apology,” the LawProf reveals himself to be the author of this essay. UPDATE: Paul Caron rounds up coverage and background here. FURTHER UPDATE: Brian Leiter comments quite critically here. THIRD UPDATE: A reminder that Campos and Leiter have clashed before. FOURTH UPDATE: The comments […]
The Mandate and the “Mainstream”
By Jonathan H. Adler on August 12, 2011 2:34 pm in Academia, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate
Some prominent academics have argued that the individual mandate is a clearly constitutional exercise of the federal government’s taxing power. Some of these same academics have argued that opponents of the individual mandate’s constitutionality are well outside the legal mainstream. Yet as of today, there has not been a single federal court — indeed, perhaps […]
Recent Widener University Law Professor Speaks Out About Connell Situation
Like my co-blogger David Bernstein, I’ve been closely following the situation at Widener University concerning the charges brought against Professor Lawrence Connell. (As some readers may recall, I filed an affidavit in the case in Connell’s support.) And like David, I was rather astonished by the latest news that the University has ordered that Connell […]
Widener’s Dean Linda Ammons Doubles Down
The saga of Dean Ammons vendetta against Professor Lawrence Connell, revolving around trumped up charges of harassment and discrimination, gets more and more absurd. Having been almost entirely vindicated by a faculty committee, with the only remaining “charge” that he dared to rebut false accusations against himself publicly, Dean Ammons has recommended that Connell be […]
Chief Justice Roberts and Current Legal Scholarship
CQ‘s Kenneth Jost assesses “Chief Justice Roberts’ Ill-Informed Attack on Legal Scholarship” on his blog. As had been widely reported and discussed, Chief Justice Roberts was dismissive of the value of much legal scholarship at the Fourth Circuit judicial conference in June. “Pick up a copy of any law review that you see,” Roberts said, […]
Jews, Labor Laws, and Poland before World War II
Let’s say I wrote a book that had the following thesis: (a) Governments tend to favor those with political power; (b) before World War II, Jews in Poland had little political power; and (c) therefore, various labor regulations enacted in Poland between 1920 and 1938, tended at best not to take the interests of Jews […]
Most Academic Books are Too Long
Not in absolute length, but relative to what they have to say. A few reasons: (1) Many academic books are revised Ph.D. theses. When you write a Ph.D. thesis, one goal is to show your review panel that you have mastered the literature. The easy way to do so is to cite and discuss everything […]
Retired Montana Law Professor Denied “Emeritus” Status
The Missoulian reports that the faculty at the University of Montana School of Law has voted agaisnt granting retired Professor Rob Natelson “emeritus” status. Natelson, who retired in May 2010 after serving 23 years as a professor in the law school to take a job as a senior fellow with the Independence Institute, was informed […]
Could the ABA Satisfy Its Own Standards?
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity — the entitity which reviews and approves accreditation agencies — has serious concerns about the American Bar Association, evan as it re-approved the ABA’s role in accrediting law schools. several members of the committee expressed reservations about approving that […]
Are Federalist Society Speaking Engagements a Major Advantage for non-Liberal Academics?
Brian Leiter argues that the opportunity to speak at Federalist Society student chapters is an important career advantage for conservative and libertarian academics. Co-blogger David Bernstein believes otherwise. On balance, I think David is right. As he points out, the speaking engagements that really help an academic career are those attended by other academics. And […]