Memo to Lawyers: How Not to 'Retire and Teach'
Suffolk University Law School Research Paper No. 07-38
North Carolina Central Law Journal, Forthcoming
17 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2007 Last revised: 15 Jan 2008
Abstract
Many long-time practitioners muse about what it might be like to retire and teach, not realizing there is no more galvanizing phrase to their counterparts who have long toiled in the academy, nor one less likely to enhance the prospects of the unfortunate seasoned applicant who utters the phrase. I intend this essay not for law professors (though it may either amuse or irritate them), but for those in the practice who aspire, after all these years, to return to the academy. With a good deal of humility acquired along the way, I offer some realistic advice to job seekers, concluding that wistful phrase is precisely the opposite of the true sine qua non of success: demonstrating the capability of, and commitment to, being a productive scholar.
Keywords: Teaching, scholarship, practicing lawyers, AALS meat market, FAR, FRC, retirement
JEL Classification: K10, K19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation