Pursuing a career as a law professor is both an intellectually rewarding and highly competitive endeavor that requires strategic planning, authentic self-presentation, and resilience in navigating academia’s unique challenges. In this comprehensive and candid session, we’ll demystify the path to legal academia, offering practical guidance for aspiring scholars from all backgrounds who dream of shaping the next generation of lawyers.
From understanding the current academic job market and essential qualifications to building your scholarly profile and crafting compelling application materials, this webinar covers the full spectrum of what it takes to break into law teaching. We’ll explore how to develop your research agenda, navigate the AALS recruitment process, and position yourself authentically in a field that increasingly values diverse perspectives and lived experiences.
A central theme throughout the session is the power of owning your story and voice. Rather than conforming to traditional academic molds, you’ll learn how your unique background, experiences, and viewpoint can become your greatest assets in scholarship and teaching. We’ll address common challenges including imposter syndrome, work-life balance, and the emotional realities of academic job searching, while providing concrete strategies for building mentorship networks and sustainable career practices.
Whether you’re a current law student, practicing attorney considering a career change, or recent graduate exploring your options, this session will equip you with realistic expectations, actionable strategies, and the confidence to pursue your academic aspirations while staying true to your authentic self. The extended Q&A period ensures personalized guidance for your specific journey into legal academia.
- Welcome and Introduction
- Brief overview of the session, speaker introduction, and setting expectations for aspiring law academics.
- Understanding the Academic Job Market
- Exploring the current landscape — hiring trends, types of positions, timeline challenges, and market realities for law teaching roles
- Essential Qualifications and Pathways
- Academic credentials, practice experience requirements, publication expectations, and alternative routes into legal academia.
- Building Your Academic Profile
- Developing scholarship, gaining teaching experience, networking strategies, and creating a compelling research agenda.
- Owning Your Story and Voice
- Encouragement to embrace your unique perspective and lived experience as a strength in academic scholarship and teaching.
- Navigating the Application Process
- AALS process, crafting application materials, job talks, campus visits, and positioning yourself authentically in a competitive market.
- Thriving in Academic Life
- Managing tenure expectations, work-life balance, and staying grounded in your scholarly purpose while building a sustainable career.
- Live Q&A
- Open floor for participants to ask questions and receive tailored advice about pursuing careers in legal academia.
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Joseph F. Rice School of Law, University of South Carolina
Etienne C. Toussaint is a private law scholar whose work explores the historical development of poverty, food insecurity, and environmental injustice within the U.S. political economy. Drawing on critical legal theory, his scholarship examines the intersection of race, culture, and modern social movements in challenging private law’s structuring of the economy. He teaches Contracts, Business Associations, Law and Political Economy, and Critical Legal History at the University of South Carolina's Joseph F. Rice School of Law. For advice on a career in academia, visit www.thetenuretrack.com.