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Professor of law ?


1298

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Has anyone here ever considered pursuing a career in academia (e.g. law professor, researcher/writer, etc.). It is something that interests me. However, I realize that in academia, there are typically more people qualified for the job than there are jobs available; lack of job security is a significant deterrent for me. If academia is something you considered but ultimately decided against, I would love to hear why. Many thanks!

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MSK2021
  • Lawyer

We used to have a forum member (ProfReader) who was law professor. Some of their old posts and a thread on this topic might be part of the archive (available on discord I believe).

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SNAILS
  • Law Student

There is nothing wrong with considering becoming a law professor. It is, of course, very much linked to exceptional performance in law school.

Once a person has straight A's and Appellant Court or SCC clerkship (or some equivalent thereof) this career path would actually be realistic.

There is also the possibility of instructing at the (probably Ontario) college level, which may require as little as a simple law degree and an aptitude for teaching.

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99problems
  • Lawyer
On 12/10/2021 at 11:07 AM, 1298 said:

Has anyone here ever considered pursuing a career in academia (e.g. law professor, researcher/writer, etc.). It is something that interests me. However, I realize that in academia, there are typically more people qualified for the job than there are jobs available; lack of job security is a significant deterrent for me. If academia is something you considered but ultimately decided against, I would love to hear why. Many thanks!

From what I've heard, continuing your studies requires exceptional grades. I can only imagine that becoming a law prof is much harder since graduate studies are necessary condition for it. A quick browsing of their profiles shows that they are extremely accomplished in their respective fields. Actually, I think that they would be more than happy to talk about it. So you can always approach them and figure out how it worked out for them.

Becoming an adjunct professor seems to be an easier path. For it, one also has be extremely accomplished, but it can be done through practice of law rather than academic records. Or so I think.

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7 minutes ago, not not a lawyer said:

From what I've heard, continuing your studies requires exceptional grades. I can only imagine that becoming a law prof is much harder since graduate studies are necessary condition for it. A quick browsing of their profiles shows that they are extremely accomplished in their respective fields. Actually, I think that they would be more than happy to talk about it. So you can always approach them and figure out how it worked out for them.

Becoming an adjunct professor seems to be an easier path. For it, one also has be extremely accomplished, but it can be done through practice of law rather than academic records. Or so I think.

 

6 hours ago, SNAILS said:

There is nothing wrong with considering becoming a law professor. It is, of course, very much linked to exceptional performance in law school.

Once a person has straight A's and Appellant Court or SCC clerkship (or some equivalent thereof) this career path would actually be realistic.

There is also the possibility of instructing at the (probably Ontario) college level, which may require as little as a simple law degree and an aptitude for teaching.

 

22 hours ago, MSK2021 said:

We used to have a forum member (ProfReader) who was law professor. Some of their old posts and a thread on this topic might be part of the archive (available on discord I believe).

Thank you all for your input! I’ve already completed my MA in a political/legal discipline at a well respected Canadian institution… so, perhaps with hard work during my JD, I can put myself on the path of academia - or, at the very least, attempt to keep those doors open. 

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CleanHands
  • Lawyer
1 hour ago, 1298 said:

 

 

Thank you all for your input! I’ve already completed my MA in a political/legal discipline at a well respected Canadian institution… so, perhaps with hard work during my JD, I can put myself on the path of academia - or, at the very least, attempt to keep those doors open. 

Sorry but the MA won't matter at all. You would need excellent JD grades and a higher level grad degree to be competitive.

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2 hours ago, CleanHands said:

Sorry but the MA won't matter at all. You would need excellent JD grades and a higher level grad degree to be competitive.

Really? Most PhD programs, like philosophy of law (PhD program at UBC) requires an LLM or an equivalent degree - in my case, an MA. So, my understanding is that yes, my MA *does matter* when it comes to putting myself onto the path of academia 

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24 minutes ago, 1298 said:

an LLM or an equivalent degree - in my case, an MA. So, my understanding is that yes, my MA *does matter* when it comes to putting myself onto the path of academia 

Have you checked this with UBC? An MA generally isn’t an equivalent to an LLM in terms of educational requirements and curriculum. The equivalent for PhD admission at UBC also has to be a degree from an approved law faculty. 

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BlockedQuebecois
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By "equivalent degree", I always understood schools to be referring to degrees equivalent in both level and subject to an LL.M—think Cambridge's M.C.L., Oxford's B.C.L/M.Jur/etc. 

I would be surprised if UBC is letting a JD+MBA enroll directly in their PhD program. 

And it's worth noting the wording on their website certainly suggests my understanding is correct: 

Quote

Applicants are required to hold a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Bachelors of Laws (LL.B.) degree as well as a Master's of Law (LL.M.) Degree (or equivalent degrees from an approved Law Faculty).

[Emphasis added.]

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53 minutes ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

By "equivalent degree", I always understood schools to be referring to degrees equivalent in both level and subject to an LL.M—think Cambridge's M.C.L., Oxford's B.C.L/M.Jur/etc. 

I would be surprised if UBC is letting a JD+MBA enroll directly in their PhD program. 

And it's worth noting the wording on their website certainly suggests my understanding is correct: 

[Emphasis added.]

Apologies, I misunderstood the definition of “equivalent”. Fortunately, it looks like UVic *may* be an option for me (??) as my MA had a significant legal portion (it was an interdisciplinary political and legal thought program), and my thesis focused extensively on law/rights. Of course, I’m sure with enough experience and background, universities are able to make exceptions to their rules (though, likely quite rare). Thank you for the clarification on this all, i would hate to have my heart potentially set on a certain school without realizing I didn’t met the requirements. 
 

UVIC “The normal minimum for admission to the PhD degree are:

Sufficient undergraduate and graduate educational background in law.

An average of A- (7.0 GPA), first class standing, or equivalent in a Master's degree.

A dissertation proposal and research interests that align with the interdisciplinary Law and Society focus of our program.”

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WhoKnows
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I'll also go ahead and note that if you want to get a tenure track position, going to a Canadian PhD program isn't likely to be the best way. Canadian law schools are generally pretty bad about hiring academics with Canadian PhDs. The vast majority are going to be Oxbridge or T14. For instance, go to the Queen's faculty page. Lots more Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Harvard, LSE, Stanford, NYU, than there are even SJD's from Toronto. 

Of course, that's likely because if you're going to be competitive for tenure track, you're probably the type of person who was competitive for those top schools. But nevertheless. 

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