Merritt on Teaching Evaluations
I’ve previously blogged on problems with student evaluations of teaching. First, I’ve expressed concern about the anonymous nature of the feedback, which means that the evaluators have reduced accountability for what they say. Second, there’s evidence that superficial things like…
Favorite Halloween Legal Cases
With Halloween coming up, I’ve been thinking–what are professors’ favorite Halloween-themed cases? My vote is Stambovsky v. Ackley, the famous NY “haunted house” case. See my post from a year ago on the case. Let me know what’s your favorite…
Administrative Duties as Academic Director
When I was considering the opportunity to become Academic Director of the law school’s High Tech Law institute, a lot of people warned me that the administrative duties would cut into my time for scholarship. I knew this would be…
What Law Students Want From Law Professors
James B. Levy, As a Last Resort, Ask the Students: What They Say Makes Someone an Effective Law Teacher, 58 Me. L. Rev. 50 (2006): “[T]he profile of the ideal law school professor from the students’ perspective is someone who…
Sexy Professors are Better Professors (?)
I couldn’t read this report without hearing the 1970s Rod Stewart song in my head: “If you want my body and you think I’m sexy, come on sugar let me know.” I’ve previously blogged on Ratemyprofessor.com, the role of sexiness…
Teaching the Context of Contract Drafting
At the ABA Annual Meeting, I was on a “train the trainer” panel with Sue Irion, Tina Stark and Charles Fox regarding the teaching of contract drafting. I talked about how to teach the substantive law that underlies contracts. Because…
Getting Scholarship Read and Cited
In January, we had a roundtable at Marquette to discuss the steps we can take to increase readership/awareness of the articles we publish. This blog post summarizes some of our discussions. Traditionally, law professor authors marketed their articles rather passively….
Marquette Drops From 100 to 101 in US News Ranking
There are many reasons why being a Dean must be frustrating. Among other reasons, the Dean is the guardian of the school’s brand, but Deans have little control over brand perceptions in the short run. Instead, brand perceptions are largely…
Travel Schedules of Law Professors
When I was in private practice, I rarely traveled for business. In my eight years as a lawyer, I can recall 5 trips to Dallas (all for the same client), a client trip to San Diego and a few presentations…
New Gig: Santa Clara University School of Law
Starting next academic year, I’ll be an Assistant Professor at Santa Clara University School of Law and the Director of the school’s High Technology Law Institute. In my administrative role, I will provide academic direction and leadership to the school’s…