Faculty Recruitment Practices
posted by Dave Hoffman
Brian Leiter has this interesting recent post on some high-pressure AALS faculty recruitment practices. Coincidentally, I just received an email from the “AALS Special Committee on Faculty Recruitment Practices,” which states, in relevant part:
The special committee’s specific charge was to determine whether, in light of [certain] complaints, something like a statement of good practices in faculty recruitment was appropriate. Of course, a prerequisite first step in fulfilling that charge is determining what practices are occurring and whether or not they are sufficiently problematic in frequency and type that a statement of good practices is necessary or appropriate. To that end, a survey of current practices seemed appropriate. Hence, this email message, which is being sent to faculty members who participated in the faculty recruitment conference within the past two years and are now full-time faculty members at an ABA approved law school/AALS member law school. We know that you are very busy individuals.
Busy, yes. But not too busy to blog.
My guess, based on anecdotes from the law clerk hiring process and discussions about international norms with colleagues, is to doubt that AALS will succeed at stamping out abuse in the absence of a real enforcement hammer. But you’ve got to give them credit for trying, because the current market is set-up to produce some unhappy marriages between candidates and schools.
November 21, 2005 at 7:40 pm
Posted in: Law School, Law School (Hiring & Laterals)
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Responses (1)
Brad - November 22, 2005 at 4:45 pm
Geez. Trying to read that email makes my head hurt. It’s hard to believe that such turgid writing comes from the AALS; then again, perhaps it’s not so hard to believe.
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