Clinical Associate Professor
Position Overview
This is a full-time, nine-month, academic staff position, engaging in clinical teaching, service, and scholarship.
The primary responsibility of the position is to teach legal practice skills in the Law School’s first-year Lawyering Skills program. This position forms an integral part of our lawyering skills-training program, which teaches first-year students legal reasoning, writing, and research skills, and introduces them to other legal practice skills including negotiation, mediation, oral argument, and professionalism. The professor will work collaboratively with other clinical faculty in the Lawyering Skills program to lay the essential foundation for students’ later success in upper-level required experiential coursework, clinical coursework, and law practice.
Th Clinical Associate Professor will teach two sections of Lawyering Skills each semester. Professors in the Lawyering Skills program use a shared syllabus and the same textbook; they also create and share the same major assignments.
Depending on the law school’s future needs, this professor may be required to instruct students in an upper-division legal writing course (in lieu of one lawyering section). Classes could include Writing for Law Practice, Contract Drafting, or an appellate/moot court brief-writing course. This professor may also participate actively in other aspects of the upper-division skills curriculum including in simulation courses, mock trial teams, moot court programs, transactional law meet teams, etc.
The Clinical Associate Professor must employ active learning principles, use technology in the classroom, and develop other teaching methods designed to maximize students’ skills learning. Clinical teaching responsibilities require the instructor to review, assess, and provide feedback on a substantial amount of student work. The professor must conference extensively with students outside the classroom.
The position is a Clinical Professor track position within the law school, which after probationary periods and reviews obtains job security provisions that comply with ABA Standard 405(c). It is designated as an unclassified academic staff position within the University’s system.
At the University of Kansas, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are an important part of our culture and university strategic plan. Applications from members of underrepresented groups are encouraged, noting the value that differences bring to our organization, students, staff, faculty, and community. The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.
KU Law ranks among the top 40 law schools in the nation and lands at #18 among public law schools according to recent U.S. News & World Report Rankings. The University of Kansas is a Carnegie doctoral/research-extensive university with a $1.4 billion endowment and a faculty of 2,600. Current enrollment is 28,500 (19,000 undergraduate). Students come from 110 nations and all 50 states; 20.6% of KU students are members of minority groups. The 1,000-acre main campus is in Lawrence, a community of 95,000 in hilly northeast Kansas that lies about 35 miles west of Kansas City. Lawrence has a lively downtown and a thriving arts and music scene, and its local government has enacted ordinances supporting equality for all members of its population. Lawrence also offers numerous sports and recreational opportunities, local shops, and a wide range of good restaurants.
The primary responsibility of the position is to teach legal practice skills in the Law School’s first-year Lawyering Skills program. This position forms an integral part of our lawyering skills-training program, which teaches first-year students legal reasoning, writing, and research skills, and introduces them to other legal practice skills including negotiation, mediation, oral argument, and professionalism. The professor will work collaboratively with other clinical faculty in the Lawyering Skills program to lay the essential foundation for students’ later success in upper-level required experiential coursework, clinical coursework, and law practice.
Th Clinical Associate Professor will teach two sections of Lawyering Skills each semester. Professors in the Lawyering Skills program use a shared syllabus and the same textbook; they also create and share the same major assignments.
Depending on the law school’s future needs, this professor may be required to instruct students in an upper-division legal writing course (in lieu of one lawyering section). Classes could include Writing for Law Practice, Contract Drafting, or an appellate/moot court brief-writing course. This professor may also participate actively in other aspects of the upper-division skills curriculum including in simulation courses, mock trial teams, moot court programs, transactional law meet teams, etc.
The Clinical Associate Professor must employ active learning principles, use technology in the classroom, and develop other teaching methods designed to maximize students’ skills learning. Clinical teaching responsibilities require the instructor to review, assess, and provide feedback on a substantial amount of student work. The professor must conference extensively with students outside the classroom.
The position is a Clinical Professor track position within the law school, which after probationary periods and reviews obtains job security provisions that comply with ABA Standard 405(c). It is designated as an unclassified academic staff position within the University’s system.
At the University of Kansas, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are an important part of our culture and university strategic plan. Applications from members of underrepresented groups are encouraged, noting the value that differences bring to our organization, students, staff, faculty, and community. The successful candidate must be eligible to work in the U.S. by the effective date of the appointment.
KU Law ranks among the top 40 law schools in the nation and lands at #18 among public law schools according to recent U.S. News & World Report Rankings. The University of Kansas is a Carnegie doctoral/research-extensive university with a $1.4 billion endowment and a faculty of 2,600. Current enrollment is 28,500 (19,000 undergraduate). Students come from 110 nations and all 50 states; 20.6% of KU students are members of minority groups. The 1,000-acre main campus is in Lawrence, a community of 95,000 in hilly northeast Kansas that lies about 35 miles west of Kansas City. Lawrence has a lively downtown and a thriving arts and music scene, and its local government has enacted ordinances supporting equality for all members of its population. Lawrence also offers numerous sports and recreational opportunities, local shops, and a wide range of good restaurants.
Job Description
Teaching (70%)
1. First-Year and Upper-Division Legal Writing
Teaching responsibilities may vary depending upon the needs of the school, but they include:
2. Additional Skills Teaching
Teaching responsibilities may vary depending upon the needs of the school, but typically include:
Service to the Law School, University, and Legal Community (20%)
Participate in programs, committees, or activities that further the professional development and academic success of the Law School and its students.
Scholarship or Professional Performance (10%)
Engage in activities that enhance scholarly, teaching, or professional performance. Activities could include: doctrinal scholarship, involvement in the legal writing academy or academy of academic support professionals, research and scholarship related to skills teaching pedagogy, development of new teaching materials for clinical or skills instruction, presentations to the academy or to the bar, providing legal services, or engaging in service to the legal profession.
1. First-Year and Upper-Division Legal Writing
Teaching responsibilities may vary depending upon the needs of the school, but they include:
- Teaching Lawyering Skills I & II in the fall and spring respectively, cumulatively 4 sections a year (this includes teaching in Lawyering Skills boot camps in May and August)
- Depending on law school needs, the professor may, in lieu of one section of lawyering skills, teach one section of an upper-level legal writing skills course
- Review of student work and conferencing regularly with students outside of the classroom
- Working with librarians to instruct students about legal research, including instruction in advanced legal research
- Supervising teaching assistants
2. Additional Skills Teaching
Teaching responsibilities may vary depending upon the needs of the school, but typically include:
- Teaching seminars and workshops related to practice skills development or academic support
- Teaching or coaching in skills competitions (e.g., moot court or transactional law meet) or active participation in upper-division skills classes (e.g., Deposition Skills Workshop or Due Diligence Workshop)
Service to the Law School, University, and Legal Community (20%)
Participate in programs, committees, or activities that further the professional development and academic success of the Law School and its students.
Scholarship or Professional Performance (10%)
Engage in activities that enhance scholarly, teaching, or professional performance. Activities could include: doctrinal scholarship, involvement in the legal writing academy or academy of academic support professionals, research and scholarship related to skills teaching pedagogy, development of new teaching materials for clinical or skills instruction, presentations to the academy or to the bar, providing legal services, or engaging in service to the legal profession.
Required Qualifications
1. Applicant must possess a J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school (or an equivalent degree).
2. Applicant must be admitted to a bar of a state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory.
3. Applicant must have at least 5 years of post J.D. legal experience, which may include legal practice, judicial clerkship, non-bar licensed professional experience in a “J.D. advantage” role, teaching fellowship, or any such combination of comparable legal experience.
2. Applicant must be admitted to a bar of a state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory.
3. Applicant must have at least 5 years of post J.D. legal experience, which may include legal practice, judicial clerkship, non-bar licensed professional experience in a “J.D. advantage” role, teaching fellowship, or any such combination of comparable legal experience.
Additional Candidate Instructions
The committee will begin review of applications on September 1, 2023 and continue until the position is filled. Initial interviews will be conducted via Zoom. We will review candidate materials posted in the AALS Faculty Appointments Register (FAR), and also invite applications from candidates not participating in the FAR. For fullest consideration, apply before September 15, 2023. Applications must be submitted online at
http://www.employment.ku.edu/academic/25669BR and should include the following:
In addition to the materials above, learning about each applicant's contribution and engagement in areas of diversity is an important part of KU's mission. As a result, applicants will be presented the following question at the time of application. The response must be within 4,000 characters or less.
http://www.employment.ku.edu/academic/25669BR and should include the following:
- Cover letter
- CV or resume
- Statement of research/teaching interests
- Names/contact of three professional references
In addition to the materials above, learning about each applicant's contribution and engagement in areas of diversity is an important part of KU's mission. As a result, applicants will be presented the following question at the time of application. The response must be within 4,000 characters or less.
- Describe your experiences working with people from diverse backgrounds, and explain how those experiences reflect your commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Contact Information to Applicants
Advertised Salary Range
Commensurate with experience
Application Review Begins
Friday September 1, 2023
Anticipated Start Date
Sunday August 18, 2024