Justia Connect Webinars Becoming a Law Professor: What Aspiring Academics Need To Know

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Overview AI Webinar Summary

Becoming a Law Professor: What Aspiring Academics Need To Know

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.

Topics covered include:

Professional Development

Agenda:

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.

Duration of this webinar: 60 minutes

Originally broadcast: July 30, 2025 10:00 AM PT

Webinar Highlights

This webinar is divided into section summaries, which you can scan for key points and then dive into the sections that interest you the most.

00:00 Introduction

Etienne Toussaint, the speaker, is a law scholar focusing on poverty, food insecurity, and environmental injustice. Etienne's work examines the intersection of race, culture, and social movements. He teaches various law courses at the University of South Carolina and shares his diverse career path.

05:46 Understanding the Academic Job Market

Etienne discusses the competitive nature of the academic job market for law professors. Candidates often have advanced degrees and multiple publications, highlighting the need for strategic positioning. Authenticity and a genuine scholarly voice are crucial for success in the market. Law schools value diverse backgrounds and interdisciplinary approaches in candidates. Etienne mentions resources like Profs Blog for insights into law school hiring trends.

11:39 Building a Competitive Academic Profile

Etienne outlines the qualifications needed for a competitive academic profile, including a JD and possibly advanced degrees. Practical experience, such as big law or public interest work, can enhance a candidate's profile. Visiting assistant professorships and fellowships offer different paths to gain teaching and research experience. Candidates should assess their needs and choose opportunities that align with their career goals. Building a research agenda should be based on genuine intellectual interests and experiences.

17:49 Developing a Unique Scholarly Voice

Etienne emphasizes the importance of developing a unique scholarly voice based on personal interests and experiences. Teaching experience can be gained through various non-traditional routes, such as clinical work or adjunct teaching. Networking is crucial for building an academic career, and authentic engagement is key. Candidates should own their diverse backgrounds and use them to inform their scholarly perspectives.

30:19 Application Process and Job Talks

The application process includes crafting a cover letter, CV, and research agenda that reflect one's scholarly identity. The job talk is a critical component, showcasing teaching style and intellectual presence. Candidates should be prepared for challenging questions during the job talk and campus visit. Evaluating potential job offers involves considering factors beyond prestige, such as institutional support and personal values. The tenure process requires demonstrating growth in scholarship, teaching, and service.

36:37 Thriving in an Academic Career

Building a sustainable academic career involves focusing on meaningful contributions rather than publication quantity. Mentorship and realistic project timelines are important for career growth. Setting boundaries and maintaining balance between work and personal life is crucial. Reconnecting with one's purpose in academia helps maintain focus and motivation. Engaging with the community and participating in meaningful service activities enriches academic life.

42:56 Q&A and Practical Advice

Etienne advises on leveraging past publications and framing them within a narrative for applications. He discusses the evolving nature of legal scholarship and the importance of traditional scholarly analysis. Publishing in law reviews involves understanding the prestige-driven nature of academia. Etienne shares insights on the application and interview process, emphasizing the importance of demonstrating teaching ability.

Please note this AI-generated summary provides a general overview of the webinar but may not capture all details, nuances, or the exact words of the speaker. For complete accuracy, please refer to the original webinar recording.

Speaker

Etienne C. Toussaint Associate Professor of Law
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.