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September 22, 2006

Law Faculty Hiring Horror Stories

D
avid Lat is trawling for law firm interview horror stories. I shared a modest example below. But then I thought: why confine it to law firms? How about some law faculty interview horror stories? Surely law firms have nothing on law faculties in the rudeness and eccentricity departments!

Two cherished moments from my own rounds on the entry-level market:

1. A job talk where a senior faculty member took over the floor for the final 10 minutes or so to tell me that my analysis was "infantile and immature" and that he doubted I had actually read the books and articles I was citing in my paper.

2. A job talk at a school that I gave in the noon hour. It was supposed to be over lunch, but the food delivery guys were really late. By around 12:20, with no lunch appearing, the chair of the committee told me to go ahead and just get started. So I got up at the lecturn and started talking. After about 5 minutes, the delivery guys snuck in the back of the room and put out the bread, the lunch meats, the chips, the sodas. The faculty stood up, en masse, the way an orchestra rises for applause, and went to the back of the room to make their sandwiches -- leaving me talking, rather self-consciously, to a roomful of empty chairs and turned backs. Only one or two kind souls stayed behind and listened.

Have a story you want to share? Shave off the identifying details about the schools and individuals involved, email them to me (isthatlegal - at - bellsouth - dot - net), and I'll post them here. Anonymity assured.

Posted by Eric at September 22, 2006 9:57 AM

Comments

I just returned from an interview for a law job in the Northeast in which I was escorted into a room with 18 attorneys seated around a table.

They were encouraged to ask me questions but there was awkward silence.

Finally, I discussed course of my career for the past 15 years since I graduated law school.

Out of the blue, a woman asked whether I had done any pro bono work in law school.

Taken somewhat aback, I discussed some of my activities and then mentioned I had worked for two professors.

She pulled out an address book and asked, "What were their names."

I struggled but failed to remember the last names of the two professors. She put her address book away. More awkward silence.

When I got back to the Midwest, I found and emailed her the last names but I got no response.

I didn't get the job either.

Posted by: pgb at November 17, 2006 10:08 AM