Regional AALS Workshop at UH Law Center Opens Doors for Future Law Professors
Workshop participants from across the region came together to share insights and resources with attendees. From top to bottom (l to r): Professor Sally B. Richardson with Tulane University Law School, Associate Professor Martin Edwards from the University of Mississippi School of Law and Dean Madeleine Landrieu of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law; Dean Patricia Roberts of St. Mary’s University School of Law, Dean Angela Banks of ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, UH Law Dean Leonard M. Baynes, and Professor Donald Campbell with Mississippi Christian University School of Law; Clinical Professor Chanté Brantley of SMU Dedman School of Law, Dean Colin Crawford of the William H. Bowen School of Law at University of Arkansas Little Rock, Dean Anna Carpenter of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and Adjunct Professor Beatrice M. Randall with Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
— For attorneys and others interested in teaching the next generation of law school students, the path to legal academia can seem confusing and difficult to navigate. To demystify the process, the University of Houston Law Center along with 17 other law schools, the Houston Bar Association and the Houston Young Lawyers Association recently hosted the Association of American Law Schools’ Pathways to Law Teaching Regional Workshop, bringing together aspiring law professors from across the region.
The event, “So You Want to be a Law Professor? From Doctrinal to Clinical to Adjunct: A Comprehensive Workshop for Aspiring Law Professors,” offered guidance for career pathways, scholarship, pedagogy and more. This marked the second year UH Law hosted this event.
“We want to make sure the possibility of becoming a law professor is extended as broadly as possible, to as many people as we can…There are a lot of talented people who want to be law professors but may not know how to get there,” said UH Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes as he welcomed this year’s attendees. “One of the goals of this workshop is to give you tools and resources to figure out how to become a law professor.”
The program began with a late-night reception and then a networking breakfast, followed by remarks from Dean Baynes and Houston Bar Association President-Elect M. Kaylan Dunn. Throughout the day, speakers emphasized the message that there is no single path to becoming a law professor.
During the first panel, “Pathways to Legal Academia,” UH Law Center Clinical Assistant Professor Christina Crozier shared her own journey from appellate practice to teaching after a 15-year legal career, emphasizing the importance of persistence.
“I applied to my current job three times, three years in a row before I got it,” she said. “I can report that the effort was 100% worth it.”
SMU Dedman School of Law Clinical Professor Chanté Brantley encouraged attendees to focus first on developing as practitioners.
“The first advice would be definitely focus on being an excellent lawyer,” Brantley said. “And also, be open to opportunities that you may not even expect.”
The Pathways to Legal Academia Panel: Chanté Brantley, clinical professor law and director of the VanSickle Family Law Clinic at the SMU Dedman School of Law; Christina Crozier, clinical assistant professor with the Lawyering Skills and Strategies Program at UHLC; and moderator Sally Brown Richardson, the A.D. Freeman Professor of Civil Law at Tulane University Law School.The Application Process Panel: Johnny Rex Buckles, the Mike and Teresa Baker College Professor of Law and chair of this year’s hiring committee at UHLC; moderator J. Anna Cabot, assistant dean of clinical programs and director of the Immigration Clinic at UHLC; and Pamela V. Keller, clinical professor and Lawyering Skills director at the University of Kansas School of Law with Dean Baynes.
Additional sessions explored faculty hiring, scholarship expectations and the expanding opportunities within legal education. Participants also met in smaller breakout groups tailored to doctrinal, clinical, legal writing and adjunct teaching careers.
The workshop concluded with a panel of law school deans who offered an inside look at how schools recruit and hire faculty members and how the legal academic market continues to evolve. Moderated by UH Law’s Dean Baynes, the panel also included Interim Dean Angela Banks of ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Dean Anna Carpenter of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, Dean Colin Crawford of the William H. Bowen School of Law at University of Arkansas Little Rock and Dean Madeleine Landrieu of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
Baynes noted that faculty hiring is among the most important decisions a law school makes because new hires often become long-term members of the academic community. At UH Law, he explained, faculty members evaluate and rank candidates, while the dean balances those recommendations with curricular and institutional needs.
Panelists also discussed the role of institutional culture, politics and relationships in the hiring process. Speakers emphasized that while candidates cannot control every dynamic within a law school, they can position themselves for success by communicating professionally, understanding institutional culture and focusing on factors within their control.
Dean Madeleine Landrieu framed politics broadly as a matter of relationships rather than ideology. "Politics is relationships, right?" she said, encouraging candidates to be transparent, follow established hiring processes and maintain open communication with faculty hiring committees. She noted that law schools are ultimately communities of people working toward shared goals, making professionalism and trust critical throughout the hiring process.
Several panelists noted that candidates are often evaluated within broader institutional conversations that may have little to do with their individual qualifications. Dean Anna Carpenter explained that candidates can symbolize differing priorities, from curricular needs to long-term strategic goals.
“All we can control is what we can control,” Carpenter said, advising aspiring professors to focus on their performance, authenticity and professional interactions rather than trying to decipher internal dynamics.
Baynes closed the discussion on an encouraging note, stressing that aspiring academics have significant control over their own professional development. Drawing on examples shared throughout the conference, he emphasized that successful candidates often create opportunities for themselves through preparation, networking and mentorship.
"You have the power in your own hands," Baynes said, reinforcing the workshop's central message that a career in legal academia is attainable through intentional effort and persistence.
Dean Madeleine Landrieu of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law presented a framed key and thank you note to UH Law’s Associate Dean for Alumni & Community Relations Sondra R. Tennessee and Dean Baynes. The key was a holdover from the time the UH Law Center welcomed Loyola’s faculty and students in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.
Along with UH Law, the event was co-convened by ASU Sandra Day O’ Connor College of Law, Baylor Law School, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Mississippi College of Law, SMU Dedman Law School, St. Mary’s University School of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston, Texas A&M University School of Law, Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Tulane Law School, University of Arkansas Law School, University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law, University of Kansas Law School, University of Mississippi School of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law, and University of Tulsa College of Law.
The Houston Bar Association and the Houston Young Lawyers Association also supported the workshop.
