Michigan Law graduates can be found in virtually every law school in the country, and many of our alumni teach at law schools overseas as well. Michigan is known nationally and internationally for being among the small handful of law schools producing the vast majority of law academics. Recent graduates have accepted positions at NYU, Harvard, University of California Davis, University of Chicago, Northwestern, and Emory, to name just a few. Our graduates are represented on the faculties of the very top law schools in the country.

If this career path is one that interests you, there are several factors you should consider. The OCP staff, in collaboration with law faculty, have written a guide (PDF) to seeking a job as a law teacher.

Calling Future Law Profs
If you are a student or an alum planning or considering a career in legal academia,  Michigan Law wants to help.

Student Research Roundtable
Students who may be interested in teaching should start laying the groundwork now, even as early as the 1L year. Students considering academic and research jobs should join the Student Research Roundtable (SRR). The goal of SRR is to provide students with every opportunity to become highly attractive teaching candidates years down the road. SRR revolves around regular lunches during which students present research ideas, research in progress, or even completed projects that are still open to revision. In addition to exposing students to the mechanics of giving a "talk" and the intellectual back-and-forth that comes with a scholarly career, SRR also brings together students who share an interest in becoming law professors so they can network, exchange information, and even begin projects together. SRR also sponsors coffees with professors, facilitates student/faculty interaction more generally, and provides detailed information and advice about all aspects of the process of finding a teaching job. Students can visit the Student Research Roundtable CTools site to join the group and view the upcoming schedule of talks and activities.

AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference
Most Michigan Law graduates planning to enter the law teaching market in 2012 should register for the AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference. (Graduates interested in clinical teaching or teaching legal writing may or may not want to attend the conference. Let's have a conversation about it, since each case is different.) The conference will take place at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. (2013 dates TBA).  Please visit www.aals.org and click the "Faculty Recruitment" link under the "Services" tab to obtain more information about the conference and the Faculty Appointments Register ("FAR").

In advance of the recruitment conference, AALS distributes the qualifications and teaching interests (called a "FAR" form) of each registered candidate to all AALS member schools. Although there are four deadlines for four different distributions, we strongly encourage any graduate who is serious about securing a teaching job to register by the first deadline. In our experience, candidates who miss the first deadline fare poorly on the market.

AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference Registration Deadlines and Distributions

CV Review
Michigan faculty members are happy to review and comment on your CV and FAR form to help you put your best foot forward when you enter the teaching market. Please submit your CV as soon as possible, and at least three weeks before the distribution #1 deadline listed above. You may send the CV to lawalumacademicplacement@umich.edu. Please put "CV Review" in the subject line of your email.

Distribution of Michigan CV Book
We will bind all submitted Michigan CVs in a book and forward them to faculty hiring committees at law schools across the country. We strongly advise you to submit CVs and FAR forms by August 23, 2013.

Discussion Group and FutureLawProfs2013 Email Group
If you're on the market, and you've been corresponding with us about your academic job search, you can join the discussion group by emailing us at lawalumacademicplacement@umich.edu.  Once we have added you to the group, you can find the discussion here.

Students and alumni can also request to join the FutureLawProfs2013 email group by emailing FutureLawProfs2013-request@umich.edu. 

Important Dates