So you want to be a law professor? Some advice for those transitioning from (military) practitioner to legal academic (Part 1)

Last week the Judge Advocates Association (JAA) hosted a panel discussion designed to help military lawyers (called judge advocates or JAGs) considering making the transition from practicing attorney to legal academic.  The webcast participants shared lots of great information, so I thought a mini-series on the topic would-be interesting.

Though this series is focused on those considering moving from practicing law in the armed forces to the halls of academia, I would suggest much of it is applicable to anyone wanting to teach in higher education (and particularly at law schools).  It also may help students and others understand what would be  professors face; it ‘pulls back the curtain’ so to speak. 

I hope to have other participants in this mini series (and I will be sharing my own observations), but my friend Professor Mark Nevitt –a former Navy aviator and later JAG–has kindly agreed to kick off the series with his reflections.  They are particularly valuable because this truly outstanding scholar was recently granted tenure at Emory (a very smart move on their part!). 

You may also want catch this podcast: Mark Nevitt: Retired Naval Aviator and JAG to Associate Professor fo Law. 

(Here’s some more good news: Mark has agreed to participate in the 30th Annual National Security Law Conference here at Duke Law, 28 Feb-1 Mar 2025!)

Update: Part 2 of this mini-series with Professor Geoff Corn can be found here.

JAG Corps to Academia Panel – Nevitt Contributions

Let me begin by saying , I believe that there is no better job than working in higher education and teaching.  In what other position can you use your skills developed in the military to mentor, lead, and inspire the next generation of legal professionals? 

Personally, being surrounded by bright, enthusiastic, young legal minds eager for knowledge at Emory Law makes me excited to go to work every day.   

What’s more, being a professor and working in higher education is an extraordinary privilege and I believe, a continuation of service to the legal profession. I would love to see more JAGs considering higher education as a post-military career option. 

JAGs would add to the diversity of the legal academy, and the legal academy would benefit greatly from the skills, talents, and hard-earned wisdom that JAGs bring to any organization.

Before you apply to positions at law schools and higher education, I think it is important to first ask yourself:  what kind of academic position would meet my personal and professional goals? 

The “six buckets”

 There are several different types of jobs within higher education, and each position has its own qualifications, norms, and standards for entering.  I might place legal higher education into six different “buckets.”  If you are a JAG aspiring to be a law professor or work in higher education, give some thought to which “bucket” you are seeking, and craft your application and lay the professional groundwork as appropriate. 

Tenure-track doctrinal professors

First, the traditional tenure-track doctrinal professor is often what many JAGs think of when they are considering when making a leap to legal education.  For JAGs aspiring to these positions, the best thing you can do to be competitive is to develop a record of scholarship and a compelling, innovative scholarly record. 

Write a law review, one that is interesting and could be potentially used as a “job talk.”  Do you like going “deep” on legal issues and engaging with long-form scholarly writing?  If so, a doctrinal legal professor position could be a dream job. 

These doctrinal professor jobs are writing jobs at their core, so if writing a law review article is something that really excites you, a tenure-track professor might be a good fit. 

Breaking into tenure-track positions at the entry-level market can be challenging, in part because of the growing phenomena of “credential stacking” where aspiring law professors participate in prestigious clerkships, fellowships, and doctoral programs. 

For JAGs that are considering leaving the military in pursuit of these tenure line positions, it is still possible to obtain a tenure-track position without doing a fellowship or Visiting Assistant Professorship, but that is increasingly rare. 

To be competitive, you will certainly need a scholarly record and the capacity to teach high enrollment courses offered in the first year curriculum.  This means writing while working, which can be challenging. 

Personally, I benefited from doing a two-year fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Law School after I left naval service in 2017. At Penn, I had time to write, establish professional contacts, and develop and teach several classes. 

Doing this fellowship bolstered my scholarly record, helped my confidence in the classroom, provided valuable teaching experience, and gave me a feel for what being a full-time professor entails.  Perhaps most importantly, the fellowship reinforced that I wanted to be a full-time professor and gave me the confidence that I was marching in the right direction!

Clinical professors of law

Second, clinical professors of law are wonderful positions that focus on the practice of law and the application of legal skills.  The American Bar Association, the accrediting body for law schools, has highlighted the importance of clinical and experiential learning in recent years.

These clinical professors of law may or not be tenure-track (what is known as “unitary tenure track” where doctrinal and clinical professors of law both enjoy tenure protections). 

Tenure-line clinical professors have an expectation that they will write innovative scholarship.  The good news: many law schools have Veteran’s Legal Clinics or clinics that relate to your military practice experience, and several former JAGs are excelling in these positions.  For example, my home institution, Emory University School of Law, has a clinic in International Humanitarian Law. 

Legal Research and Writing or Legal Practical Skill

Third, there are positions in the first year Legal Research and Writing or Legal Practical Skills program.  Each law school labels and structures these legal writing and skills programs a bit differently.  As a general matter, these positions are generally focused on teaching first-year law students legal analysis, brief writing, and legal communication.  

These positions are often the most challenging in the law school as you are truly shaping entering law students on how to think like a lawyer.  But they are also incredibly rewarding as you develop close, personal relationships with law students and you often get the opportunity for the light bulb to flicker on when a law student understands the legal reasoning processes.  

As a general matter, these are traditionally non tenure line positions, but are full-time positions with nine month contracts.  Summers can be spent applying for grant projects or enjoying the time with family and friends. 

Deans and Associate Deans

Fourth, there are positions in law school leadership, such as Deans and Associate Deans that are responsible for the day-to-day management of law school operations.  Military officers bring leadership to any organization, and several JAGs have had notable success in recent years in these positions. 

For senior JAGs, particularly flag officers and general officers, serving as a Dean at a law school is a possibility upon leaving military service. (Former Navy JAGs turned law school deans include Vice Admiral Houck at Penn State, Rear Admiral Guter at South Texas College of Law, and Admiral Hutson at University of New Hampshire Law).   

These are 12 month a year positions, but the teaching and scholarship load expectations are reduced to take into account administrative and leadership responsibilities. 

Adjunct professors

Fifth, adjunct professors of law allow you to maintain a connection to a law school while continuing in your full-time employment.  “Adjuncting” is common in major metropolitan areas that have large legal markets (D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles). 

Law schools are often looking for “hot” areas of the law, and serving as an adjunct professor often involves making a course pitch to the law school administration.  While the adjunct pay is not necessarily lucrative, the joy in these positions involves staying engaged with bright young law students.

Military institutions

Sixth, several military institutions hire civilian professors to teach law or law related classes.  The United States Military Academy at West Point has an exceptional Law department filled with outstanding uniformed and civilian faculty members and the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, and U.S. Coast Guard Academy all have civilian law professors on their faculty. 

Personally, I spent one year at the faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy and loved teaching and leading the next generation of naval officers.  

Concluding thoughts

Finally, during the Judge Advocate Association Meeting, I highlighted that many of the traits that make outstanding JAGs–hard work, leadership, and grit–make for outstanding professors. 

And there is a small (but mighty!) group of JAGs that have made the leap to higher education.  We would love to help the next generation of JAGs join the academy–I relied upon the advice of General Dunlap at Duke, Admiral Houck at Penn State, Geoff Corn at Texas Tech, Eric Jensen at BYU Law, Rachel VanLandingham at Southwestern Law, Chris Jenks at SMU Law and others when I made the leap to being a professor. 

I benefited greatly from the wisdom and mentorship of those that came before me and JAGs in the academy would love to speak with you about making the leap. 

About the author

Mark Nevitt joined the Emory Law faculty as an associate professor of law in summer 2022. His research focuses on climate change’s role in destabilizing numerous areas of law and climate change’s security implications.   Before academia, Nevitt served as both a tactical jet aviator and attorney (JAG) in the United States Navy, serving in the rank of commander 

Nevitt has served as an associate professor at Syracuse University College of Law and the Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Law at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. From 2017-2019 Nevitt served as the Sharswood Fellow, Lecturer-in-Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His articles have appeared or are forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, and Harvard Environmental Law Review, among others. 

Originally from Rhode Island, Nevitt received his J.D. and LL.M. (with distinction) from the Georgetown University Law Center and his B.S.E. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.  His research focuses on environmental law and national security law, with a particular emphasis on climate change’s destabilizing impacts.

Remember what we like to say on Lawfire^®: gather the facts, examine the law, evaluate the arguments – and then decide for yourself!