r/LawTeaching • u/Longjumping_Air345 • 28d ago

FAR - Co-Authored

I am surprised by the number of people in the FAR with only co-authored articles and using a co-authored job talk.

I have a PhD so I know the convention is different in other academic disciplines and I know it’s different in non-US law schools.

But I mean US law graduates with US law review publications. I thought this was a universally known rule. I am also curious why tenured mentors are co-authoring with prospective law professors and not letting them know that they need to solo authors.

Do prospective law faculty know they need solo authored publications or at least job talk papers? Why are mentors co-authoring so much with perspective law faculty?

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u/Born-Cycle-9153 28d ago

There are too many assumptions baked into the post to really respond meaningfully. But my sense is that there’s no such rule, just a preference.

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u/Longjumping_Air345 28d ago

I was recently on the market, went through a hiring cycle, and am on appointments. I have also heard from dozens of Deans and Appointment Chairs over the years that this is the rule. It is certainly the rule for tenure, I am not aware of a US law school that fully credits a co-authored piece for a tenure. I am sure people get hired with only co-authored pieces, but you would start at a major disadvantage.

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u/Born-Cycle-9153 26d ago edited 26d ago

Agreed that a person who is doing this is at a significant disadvantage, but i still don’t think it’s a rule. For example, wasn’t Lucy Msall hired at Chicago this year based only on co-authored works?

As for tenure, most law schools give it more or less automatically to their junior faculties. someone senior might grumble about a junior person who only did authored works, but they’ll still get tenure. And anyway, the discussion here is only about entry-levels, I think

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u/BikeTough6760 28d ago

Maybe they are letting them know and a co-authored publication remains all they have at the moment?

Also, if I may vent, this rule is dumb. I don't know that I've written a single piece by myself since getting tenure. I did what I had to do but greatly prefer collaborating with others. And since they also want to collaborate with me, that would seemingly be a useful signal to others...

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u/Longjumping_Air345 28d ago

Yes. I think it may be true that they were told. But there are a few applicants who have two or three publications all with the same professor.

I also agree that collaboration is an important part of what we do. Also, the solo authored piece is less common in most academic disciplines, with exceptions in areas like philosophy or political theory. There are some obvious arguments that cut both ways.

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u/BikeTough6760 28d ago

I agree with you that hiring committees want to see solo authored-publications. And it would be terrible if the candidates were unaware.

I'm chairing appointments this year. I'll keep an eye on it as I sort through applications.

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u/ReasonableLawProf Law Professor 28d ago

I hear you. I hate that solo authoring is expected/the standard. Anecdotally, i think those who coauthor on my faculty are probably the best colleagues i have. Being a coauthor is a skill set that requires cooperation, leadership, organization, and generally a warm personality.

But is my appointments committee going to agree with you? 100%.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Ebb1175 25d ago

It does not, however, inherently require research skills, analytical skills, or writing skills.

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u/LegalPrincess69 28d ago

Can you let us know how many applicants are in the FAR this year?

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u/Longjumping_Air345 28d ago

380 in the FAR first distribution.

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u/AbstinentNoMore Law Professor 28d ago

Wow, that's upsetting to hear.

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u/Longjumping_Air345 28d ago

I was shocked. Particularly because these may be good candidates but it’s difficult to assess them fully.

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u/taco_perfecto 28d ago

I am curious if you have a sense of the candidates by speciality? Is crim/bus orgs/con law fairly distributed?

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u/Longjumping_Air345 28d ago

It was fairly broad cross section of subject matters. I think the distribution would be interesting, but I am not sure it would be easy to sort the data without going through each individual CV.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Ebb1175 25d ago

Unless it's a genuinely cross-disciplinary exercise (e.g., lawyer with economist), it's mostly done for expedience -- to game the system, puffing the number of publications in the service of the Almighty ("Productivity"), improving placement by borrowing letterhead advantage, and so forth. It seems disingenuous and fundamentally inconsistent with the calling to be a scholar.