Workshop for New Law School Teachers

The Workshop for New Law Teachers is an opportunity for faculty who have been teaching for three years or less to build networks, establish mentors, and share their experiences, questions, and concerns as new academics with their cohort. New faculty will also benefit from the advice and support from the roster of inspirational scholars and teachers the AALS planning committee has chosen for their commitment to legal education, the distinction they have achieved in their own careers, and the diversity of their scholarly and pedagogical approaches.

What’s in store for new law teachers?

In the shadow of a waning pandemic that affected every aspect of how quality education, scholarship, and institutional service are performed, higher education is facing significant challenges. Law schools are not immune. Policy debates over funding, student debt, accreditation and access to education have been intensified by partisan divides. Issues like free speech, diversity initiatives, and academic freedom have become hot-button topics. At the same time, this disruption has created remarkable opportunities to innovate, reimagine, and rethink legal education and how best to prepare the next generation of lawyers. 

The landscape of the legal academy has also changed: fewer new faculty members have years of practice experience, while an increasing number enter the profession with scholarship and scholarly networks well underway. The groundwork is set for new professors to take on multiple roles as teachers, scholars, mentors, and institutional citizens. New law teachers, including those joining law school faculties as tenure-track, lecturer, clinical, or visiting appointees, need to understand these opportunities and challenges to succeed in their careers.

What’s in store at the workshop?

The speakers will pass along tips and techniques for successful in-person and virtual teaching, student engagement, and assessment. As in previous years, speakers will also share valuable advice about developing, placing, and promoting one’s scholarship. The workshop will also include advice on the competing demands of institutional service and the evolving expectations of law students and faculty colleagues, as well as how to approach work-life balance. New this year, one set of breakout sessions will allow participants to either practice a teaching technique or share drafts of their syllabi and receive formative feedback. 

There is something special about an event that draws together new law faculty from around the country. We look forward to welcoming new faculty members as they settle into this exciting phase of their legal career.