Welcome back to Ahead of the Curve. I'm Karen Sloan, legal education editor at Law.com, and I'll be your host for this weekly look at innovation and notable developments in legal education.

This week, I'm looking at the exodus of law deans with a decade or more of experience under their belts with commentary from outgoing Chicago-Kent law dean Harold Krent on how to last in the job. Next up is a look at the benefits of hosting the Global Legal Hackathon on law campuses—something Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School understand.

Please share your thoughts and feedback with me at [email protected] or on Twitter:@KarenSloanNLJ

Seasoned Law Deans Bid Adieu

I've written several stories recently noting the gender and racial diversity of the incoming cohort of law deans. (You can read them here and here.) But here's something I haven't mentioned in my coverage: A number of the nation's longest serving deans are leaving that role at the end of this semester, or soon thereafter. Put another way, there's a lot of institutional knowledge that is retiring—or at least moving out of the dean's suite.

Here's a little background: The average tenure of a law dean is currently about four years. This figure is courtesy of a helpful dean's database maintained by Jim Rosenblatt, a professor at Mississippi College School of Law (and former dean.) According to that database, two of the five longest-serving deans are soon to step down, and a third left the deanship at the end of the previous academic year. A quick rundown:

➤➤Chicago-Kent College of Law Dean Harold Krent is wrapping up his deanship this semester after 17 years in the job. That makes him third-longest serving dean in the country.

➤➤Avi Soifer announced this month that he will step down as the dean of the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law as soon as the school can find his replacement. He has been in the job for 16 years, landing him right behind Krent as the fourth-longest serving dean.

➤➤Last year, longtime University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law Katherine “Shelley” Broderick left the dean's office after occupying it for 20 years. (She's no longer on Rosenblatt's list, but that tenure would have landed her as the third- longest-serving dean if she were on it today.)

➤➤Four more of the 15 longest deanship are wrapping up: Alan Michaels at Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law (11 years); Nell Newton at the University of Notre Dame Law School (10 years); Patricia White at the University of Miami School of Law (10 years); and Donald Guter at South Texas College of Law Houston (10 years.)

Those are some impressively long tenures in a job that is high-pressure under good circumstances, and was made all the more difficult over the past eight years because of a shrinking applicant pool, newfound budget pressures, a difficult entry-level legal job market and declining bar pass rates. I reached out to Krent for his thoughts on how to remain an effective dean over a long period of time. Here's what he said:

“Deans have many constituencies—students, faculty, staff, university, community, and the legal academy. I have consoled myself that one cannot be a hit with all constituencies, and success with the respective groups over the years have ebbed and flowed. But, I think it critical to keep good lines of communication with all the groups and offer help when feasible.”

With so many experienced deans stepping down, who's left at the top?According to Rosenblatt's database, it's John O'Brien, who has been dean of New England Law Boston for more than three decades. (!!!) Next up is Bradley Toben, who has been at Baylor University School of Law for more than 27 years. (You can read more about his tenure here.) Marquette University Law School's Joseph Kearney rounds out the top five longest serving deans. He has been dean for 16 years.

My thoughts: There are clearly advantages and disadvantages to having a longtime leaders move on. On the con side, deans who have been on the job for a decade or more know their institutions inside and out. They understand the dynamics of the faculty. They have had time to establish personal connections with alumni (and donors.) And they also know the ropes of dealing with central university administrators. On the other hand, fresh leadership can yield exciting new approaches. It's worth noting that many of these departing deans will be replaced by academics who are significantly younger, and may bring different ideas about what a modern legal education looks like, and may be able to connect in a different way to younger faculty and students. Either way, best of luck to these academics who are closing the book on their deanships.

Global Legal Hackathon Comes to Law Campuses

Confession: I'm a bit late on this on, but I want to give a nod to Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and Brigham Young University J. Rueben Clark Law School, both of which hosted preliminary rounds of the 2019 Global Legal Hackathon in late February. (The competition is heading into the final round next month in New York, which reminded me that several law schools were involved in the early stages.) I've previously written a bit about this competition, now its second year. But here's a quick overview: About 5,000 participants gathered for a two-day competition in late February, at 46 sites spread across 24 countries. They pitched their ideas for how to use tech to address legal issues, with panels of judges sending the best ideas onto a second, then final round with 12 teams.

The Takeaway: The competition is designed for lawyers, law students, and those in the legal tech industry, so there were law students participating outside of Phoenix and Provo. But I think it's smart for law schools to offer up their campuses as competition sites. I suspect that boosts the likelihood of their students participating, and I think it gives students who aren't hardcore legal tech enthusiasts the chance to be exposed to what's happening outside the traditional practice of law. Maybe they aren't willing to give up two days to participate on a Hackathon team, but even sitting in on the project pitches might help open their eyes to the possibilities legal tech presents. And the students who do participate on Hackathon teams get the chance to network and connect with practitioners. There were 10 preliminary round sites in the U.S. this year and just two were at law schools. If I were a law dean, I'd offer up my campus next year…

Extra Credit Reading

The New York State Bar Association has launched a task force that will examine whether the state's adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam has led to an increase in lawyers who are unprepared to practice.

A California appeals court upheld the expulsion of a former University of Southern California law student who stole her classmate's law review write-on submission then lied to cover her tracks.

Gonzaga Law Dean Jacob Rooskby and about 50 law students made Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a segment seeking to prove that their university campus exists.

Law students stepped up their efforts to end mandatory arbitration at law firms, handing out leaflets outside of DLA Piper and Venable.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has landed a summer teaching gig with the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, joining his court colleague Neil Gorsuch.

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I'll be back next week with more news and updates on the future of legal education. Until then, keep in touch at [email protected]