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.

I've got a lot to cover this week so I'm giving you an Ahead of the Curve Lightning Round, with quick looks at Law.com's Go-To Law Schools report; William Adam's appointment to the head of the ABA's Legal Education Section; the legal academy's reaction to Elizabeth Warren's failed bid for the Democratic nomination; and the return of two controversial law professors to Emory and Minnesota. Read on!

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

 

Big Law's Big Feeder Schools

Shameless self promotion alert: If you haven't yet checked out Law.com's 2020 Go-To Law Schools report, take a look here. In addition to a wealth of data on new associate hiring among the largest 100 law firms in the country organized by law school, I've pulled together an overview of the large firm hiring climate and the recent downturn in summer associate recruiting. Plus, I've got the skinny on three new early interviewing programs from Harvard, NYU and Columbia that may—or may not—significantly shake up this year's recruiting cycle. We do this report every year, and it's always a big undertaking, considering that we gather the vast majority of the associate hiring data directly from the firms. This year, we tracked down data for 4,423 JD grads from 2019 who took first-year associate jobs at those large firms, up slightly from the class of 2018. As always, here's my disclaimer: This report is not intended to suggest that Big Law jobs are the only worthwhile legal employment or the only ones that law students should aspire to. But the report is intended to be a resource for law students and prospective students who think they want to take that career track.

There's a New ABA Sheriff in Town

William Adams has received the nod to take the helm of the ABA's Section of Legal Education. He will become the managing director of accreditation and legal education on April 6, when current honcho Barry Currier steps down. Adams is no stranger to the in-and-outs of the legal education section. He's been Currier's No. 2 since 2013. (And he's helped me sort out issues with the section's many large-scale data releases over the years.) So it makes sense that the legal education council would pick someone who knows what the job entails. Alas, Adams declined my interview request last week when the appointment was made public. An ABA spokesman said he will talk to the media next month once he's in the job. So I'll have to wait to hear his take on what lies ahead for the section's law school oversight. As for Currier, I think he should earn a badge for steering the section through what has to be some of its most turbulent years. He hasn't always made everyone happy—that's for sure. But I think he has been fair in his approach to accrediting law schools at a time when the ABA came under immense pressure from the both the public and the U.S. Department of Education to get tougher on underperforming campuses. And the amount of information—accurate information, even—that we now have on law graduate employment and bar pass rates was vastly improved on his watch.

 

Warren's Fans in the Academy React

Elizabeth Warren failed to catch fire with voters—as reflected in the fact that she didn't place among the top two Democratic contenders in any of the primaries through Super Tuesday. But her decision to throw in the towel last week made one thing clear: She was a favorite among the legal academy. Twitter was chock full of law professors on Thursday lamenting the implosion of her campaign and contending that Warren was the best candidate of the bunch, polls be damned. There was NYU's Mellissa Murray declaring herself "sad AF" by the announcement. Retired professor Michael Olivas recalled how she offered him teaching advice when they overlapped at the University of Houston Law Center and said she "would have been a great president." Chicago-Kent law prof Anthony Michael Kreis took to Twitter with a quasi-public service announcement moments after Warren pulled out of the race: "Be kind to your neighborhood liberal law professor today" he wrote. It makes sense that the academy would support Warren. Not only did she ascend to the Senate from the Harvard Law faculty, but her background in law teaching was reflected in many aspects of her campaign, from her reputation as the best prepared candidate to her artful verbal skewering of her competitors on the debate stage. (See: Michael Bloomberg.) One of the more touching things I saw in the aftermath was this story about Harvard Law students placing post-it notes with messages of thanks by her faculty portrait.

A Controversial Emory Professor Returns

Paul Zwier, the Emory law professor who has been paid administrative leave for more than a year after using a racial slur on two occasions, will return to the law school before the end of the spring semester. Emory's student newspaper broke the news last week that Zwier has been cleared to return to teaching, but won't be teaching any mandatory classes prior to the fall 2021 semester. He first came under fire in August 2018 for allegedly using the N word in class, then apparently used the term again during office hours just months later. In an email to students, Emory law dean Mary Ann Bobinski acknowledged the inherent tension between academic freedom and "inclusive learning environments."

"I have determined that a faculty member's use of racially-charged, derogatory language—such as the explicit N-word—with students, and without a clear pedagogical objective, may lead to censure and other forms of disciplinary action under applicable University policies," she wrote. Excluding Zwier from teaching mandatory courses is akin to Penn Law's decision last year to bar lightning rod professor Amy Wax from teaching classes that students are required to take.

This Might Sound Familiar

Sheesh, law deans have to make a lot of tough calls these days. Just as Bobinski had to weigh how to handle Zwier, Minnesota law dean Gary Jenkins also found himself in the judge's seat. In his case, he had to decide what to do about corporate law professor Edward Adams who pleaded guilty to underreporting his income to the IRS and was sentenced to two years of probation in January. Adams had been on paid leave from the law school 2017, when he was indicted on 18 counts related to an alleged $4 million embezzlement scheme. (Prosecutors eventually dropped 17 of those charges and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.) In the end, Jenkins docked Adams for a month of pay, after which he will be able to return to teaching. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Adams is also barred from any outside consulting or business activities until June 2024. In addition, he has to make up the deficit of teaching hours he lost during his suspension from the faculty before taking a sabbatical.

Extra Credit Reading

At least six law schools have cancelled in-person classes due to coronavirus concerns, including Stanford, Columbia, Fordham, and the University of Washington.

Santa Clara University School of Law is expanding its privacy law program with a $750,000 gift from a trio of donors that includes name law firm partner Larry Sonsini.

Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloomington professor talks about how law schools can develop business-ready new lawyers.

Thanks for reading Ahead of the Curve. Sign up for the newsletter and check out past issues here.

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]