Free Sample
The Complete Guide to Becoming A Law Teacher, Postsecondary
The real pay, the real path, and the real day-to-day of teaching law at a college or university — before you invest a decade in the attempt.
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: What Does a Law Teacher, Postsecondary Actually Do?
If you're considering a career as a postsecondary law teacher, you probably have a mental image of standing in front of a lecture hall, delivering a brilliant analysis of a Supreme Court decision, and then retiring to a wood-paneled office to read and think. That image isn't wrong, exactly. It's just incomplete. It's like describing a farmer's job as "watching things grow" and leaving out the weather, the equipment repairs, and the three a.m. calving. So let's walk through what this job actually involves, hour by hour and task by task.
Your core job title is "Law Teacher, Postsecondary," which is the Department of Labor's catch-all phrase for anyone who teaches law at an accredited college or university. That includes assistant professors, associate professors, full professors, adjunct faculty, and clinical law professors. The specific duties vary depending on your institution and your contract, but the unvarnished truth is this: your job is made up of four main pillars, and teaching is only one of them.
The Four Pillars: Teaching, Scholarship, Service, and Institutional Citizenship
Teaching. This is the part most people think of first. You'll design syllabi, prepare lectures, foster class discussions, and grade student work. The reality, though, is far more granular than what you see from the student side of the room. Preparing a single hour-long class for a course like Contracts or Criminal Law can take two to three hours of your time. You're not just reciting