Position Announcement: Clinical Professor and Director, Criminal Defense Clinic
University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas
The University of Texas School of Law has an opening for a clinical professor to direct the Criminal Defense Clinic (CDC), beginning in August 2015. The position is a full-time, nine-month appointment. It is a non-tenure track position, with an initial one-year appointment followed by three-year, rolling, presumptively renewable appointments. The successful candidate will join a community of over 25 faculty members who teach in the clinical program.
The CDC has operated at Texas Law since 1974. It is a six-credit, one semester, pass/fail course with weekly classes, skills sessions, and case supervision meetings. Approximately 16 students enroll each semester. The CDC is directed by a full-time clinical professor who works with two part-time supervising attorneys and an administrative assistant.
CDC students represent indigent defendants charged with misdemeanors in Travis County. Typical offenses include DWI, theft, assault, and drug possession. Students function as “first chair” attorneys, with the supervising attorneys sitting as “second chair” during court proceedings. The clinical faculty provides mentorship and supervision for students but students take on primary responsibility for their cases. Students arrange jail releases, interview clients and witnesses, investigate crime scenes, litigate pretrial issues, negotiate with prosecutors, work with court staff, and try cases before judges and juries. The CDC is primarily focused on trials but past students have occasionally worked on appeals (including in the U.S. Supreme Court).
More information about the CDC can be found at: www.utexas.edu/law/clinics/criminal/
Qualifications:
1. Member of Texas Bar, eligible to waive in to Texas Bar, or willing to take the Texas Bar Exam in July 2015;
2. At least eight years of experience in criminal defense practice;
3. Familiarity with clinical teaching methods;
4. Experience supervising law students and/or junior attorneys;
5. Experience running a law office or practice area; and
6. Teaching experience (preferred).
The salary for this position is in the $98,000 to $110,000 range for nine months, depending on experience. The position is open until filled.
Applications (with a letter of interest, a resume or c.v., a writing sample, and the names of three references) should be submitted by email by January 9, 2015, to:
Eden Harrington, Associate Dean for Experiential Education
University of Texas School of Law
727 East Dean Keeton Street
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 232-7068
eharrington@law.utexas.edu