Careers in Law Teaching

The University of Chicago Law School is a national leader in placing graduates in tenure-tracking academic and clinical teaching positions. Our commitment to the Socratic method, our rigorous curriculum, the breadth and depth of our course offerings, our culture of faculty interaction, and our world-class mentorship give students the academic preparation, exposure to ideas, and intellectually vibrant community they need to thrive as legal academics. We provide extensive support to current students and alumni as they prepare for, and participate in, the academic job market..

During Law School: Training to be an Academic

Our Academic Pipeline Committee provides information, guidance, and support to students during law school who are interested in careers in legal academia.  

A. Programming for Future Academics

We have programming for current students throughout the year. For more information, please contact Professor Bridget Fahey (bfahey@uchicago.edu), Professor Adrianna  Robertson (arobertson@uchicago.edu), or Professor Sam Bray (sbray@uchicago.edu).  You can also join our listserve to receive emails about events.

1. Annual Information Session:
   
   In the fall quarter, the law school hosts an information session about careers in law teaching. Many students don’t know they want to be academics until their second or third year in law school.  Regardless of your year, or level of interest, we encourage to attend our annual information session to learn more!
    
2. Faculty Lounge Series:
   
   The Law School hosts quarterly lunch sessions with groups of faculty on topics related to creating legal scholarship and becoming a law professor.  Topics may include: intellectual and study habits of successful future law professors, how to develop a research agenda, how to engage with other disciplines, how to choose an article topic (and when to abandon an article idea). 
    
3. Office Hours:
   
   Professors Fahey and Robertson each hold quarterly office hours. Please feel free to drop in and ask questions about any aspect of legal scholarship and law teaching or to set up a one-on-one appointment to discuss your academic interests, scholarly work, or mentorship.
    
4. Mentorship:
   
   Students with an interest in legal academia should never be afraid to seek mentorship from faculty members in their field of interest. Faculty are eager to help students pursue academic careers.  Professors Fahey and Robertson are also happy to help facilitate those connections.
    

B. How to Prepare for a Career in Academia During Law School

Law School is a great time to build the foundation for a successful career in the legal academy.

1. Workshops:
   
   The Law School is known for its workshop culture and we are unique in not just allowing, but encouraging students to attend and participate in our workshops.  Indeed, students are frequently able to enroll in our workshops for course credit. Workshops—which generally invite scholars from across the country (and world) to present their works-in-progress—provide an excellent opportunity to engage with legal scholarship and to learn the norms of scholarly exchange in law schools. 

   Some of our current workshops include: the Constitutional Law Workshop, the Law & Economics Workshop, the Legal Scholarship Workshop, the Public Law Workshop, and the Workshop on Regulation of Family, Sex, and Gender.  But each year also brings new workshops, so please consult your mentor and the course catalogue for additional opportunities.  

2. Independent Studies:
   
   Aspiring academics often find it valuable to research and write under the direction of a faculty member.  Independent students can be a wonderful way of pursuing sustained research projects with faculty during the academic year.  Reach out to your faculty mentor or the Academic Pipeline committee members to learn more.  
    
3. Classes:
   
   Each student’s preparation for a career in legal academia will be unique, but your faculty mentors are here to help you think about course selection and other preparatory activities.  In general, we encourage students to take a mix of doctrinal classes, seminars, workshops, and independent studies. Some model course sequences for popular areas of focus are below, but each student should not hesitate to customize their course selection to their own interests and objectives or reach out to their faculty mentor or Professor Robertson or Fahey for advice.
    
4. Model Course Sequences:
   
   Law & Economics: Introduction to Law and Economics, Public Choice, Corporate Finance, Business Organizations, Federal Income Tax, Con Law I, Administrative Law, Law and Economics Workshop, 3-4 advanced seminars, including Canonical Ideas
   
   Business Law: Business Organizations, Securities Regulation, Federal Income Tax, Bankruptcy, Corporate Finance, Con Law I, Administrative Law, Law and Economics Workshop, 3-4 advanced seminars, including Canonical Ideas
   
   Law & Philosophy: Jurisprudence I, Jurisprudence II, Law & Philosophy Workshop, advanced seminars offered by Professors Leiter and Nussbaum, Canonical Ideas
   
   Constitutional Law:  Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, Constitutional Law III, Federal Courts, Administrative Law, Remedies, Antitrust, Public Law Workshop and/or Constitutional Law Workshop, 3-4 advanced seminars, including Canonical Ideas
   
   Legal History: Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, Constitutional Law III, Legal History of the Founding Era, Structural Constitutionalism in the Civil War and Reconstruction, Public Law Workshop and/or Constitutional Law Workshop
    

After Law School: Going on the Job Market

Professor Brian Leiter has created an extensive handbook of information on the academic job market. 

If you are a University of Chicago Law School alumnus/a and are considering a career in law teaching now or in the near future, please contact one of the following University of Chicago Law School faculty members, involved in helping graduates prepare of the job market.

• Brian Leiter, Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence, Director of the Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values and Chair, Law Teaching: Placement of Graduates Committee
• Lisa Bernstein, Wilson-Dickinson Professor of Law
• Lee Fennell, Max Pam Professor of Law

We strongly encourage you to contact one of these faculty members as soon as you begin your preparation for the academic job search, and especially before submitting your paperwork to AALS.

We also organize an annual workshop on preparing for the law teaching market. If you are interested in attending the next conference, please contact one of the committee members.

Information and Advice for Persons Interested in Teaching Law

Prepared by Brian Leiter (with input from many colleagues over the years) in August 2009 (Last updated December 2025).

I. Paths to Law Teaching
II. Chicago Alumni in Academia
III. The Mechanics of the Academic Job Market in Law
IV. Ranking Law Schools
V. Upward Mobility

Appendix A: University of Chicago Law School Alumni in Academia

Appendix B: Model Resume for On-Campus Interviews (PDF)

Appendix C: Good with Words: Writing and Editing by Patrick Barry (PDF)