Moot Workshop 2021
For Columbia Law affiliates who are going on the academic teaching market this year, or who are interested in doing so in a future year, a Moot Workshop will be held virtually over two days, September 17 and September 24, 2021.
This workshop will offer current candidates the opportunity to present their job-talk papers before Columbia faculty and other scholars in order to prepare for the hiring market. The main goal of the Moot Workshop is to give feedback to candidates early in the hiring season so that they can improve their papers and presentations in advance of interviews. The workshop will also be a forum through which Columbia community members interested in academia can develop relationships with each other, renew relationships with professors, and learn about the job market more generally.
Anyone with a Columbia Law connection can apply to present at the Moot Workshop. Those 2021–2022 candidates without papers ready in time are also welcome to attend the workshop, as are those who are interested in the future and would like to get a feel for what the process entails. If you are unsure whether this is the year for you, please err on the side of getting in touch. A member of the Law School’s Careers in Law Teaching Committee may be able to offer advice or provide guidance in preparing your AALS forms.
Here is a timetable regarding the Moot Workshop and related events in 2021:
- August 10: AALS Registration Deadline for the first distribution of candidates’ FAR forms. We strongly urge candidates to register for this first distribution, as almost all of the most successful candidates on the market have their materials circulated at this time. Information about the AALS process can be found at http://aals.org/services/faculty-recruitment-services/
- August 20: Deadline for submitting an abstract of your paper and your CV for the Moot Workshop. Abstracts should be no longer than one page.
- September 3: Deadline for Moot Workshop participants to submit the paper itself so that it can be distributed to participating faculty.
- September 17 and September 24: Moot Workshop
All correspondence regarding the Moot Workshop—including submissions of abstracts, CVs, and papers—should be addressed in the first instance to the program’s administrative contact, Zoe Attridge ([email protected]).
Spring 2021
All workshops will be held online via Zoom from 12:15 - 1:00 pm. Please RSVP to Sallie Locke at [email protected].
Wednesday, February 3
“Going into Law Teaching: What I Wish I Had Known When in Law School”
Speakers: Kristen Underhill, Talia Gillis, and Kathryn Judge
Wednesday, February 10
“The JD/PhD Path: How, Why, Necessary?”
Speakers: Jody Kraus, Ed Morrison, and Kellen Funk
Wednesday, February 17
“Moving from Private Practice to Teaching”
Speakers: Bernard Harcourt and Merritt Fox
Wednesday, February 24
“Generating Paper Ideas and Then Following Through”
Speakers: Philip Hamburger, Maeve Glass, and Eric Talley
Wednesday, March 10
“Becoming a Clinical Professor”
Speakers: Elora Mukherjee, Philip Genty, and Colleen Shanahan
Wednesday, March 17
"The Importance of Diversity”
Speakers: Olatunde Johnson, David Pozen, and Christina Ponsa-Kraus
Wednesday, March 24
"Academic Fellowships: Pros, Cons, and Should You Do One?"
Speakers: Lina Khan, Z. Payvand Ahdout, and Michael Heller
Wednesday, March 31
“Law School Teaching and Careers Other Than Full-Time Faculty”
Speakers: Susan Kraham, Cristina Romero, and Michel Paradis
Spring 2020
All workshops will be held from 12:10 to 1:10 p.m. in JGH 807.
Monday, February 3
“What I Wished I Had Known or Thought Harder About While in Law School”
Speakers: Kristen Underhill, Eric Talley, Kathryn Judge
Monday, February 10
“Careers in Teaching: Increasing Diversity”
Speakers: Olatunde Johnson and Lynnise Pantin
Monday, February 17
“Moving From Private Practice to Teaching”
Speakers: Merritt Fox and Jeffrey Gordon
Monday, February 24
“Generating Paper Ideas and Then Following Through”
Monday, March 2
“What to Do When You Are Ready to Teach, and Thoughts About What 'Ready' Means in Today’s Market”
Monday, March 9
“Becoming a Clinical Professor”
Speakers: Colleen Shanahan and Elora Mukherjee
Monday, March 16
SPRING BREAK – NO WORKSHOP
Monday, March 23
“The J.D./Ph.D. Path: How, Why, Necessary?”
Speakers: Kellen Funk
Monday, March 30
“Associates, Fellows, and VAPs: Getting Time to Do the Scholarly Work”
Speakers: Zimra Payvand Ahdout and Noah Smith-Drelich
Monday, April 6
“Law School Teaching and Careers Other than Full-Time Faculty”
Speakers: Susan Kraham
Spring 2019
All workshops will be held from 12:10 to 1:10 p.m. in JGH 546.
Monday, February 4
“What I Wished I Had Known or Thought Harder About While in Law School”
Speakers: Kellen Funk, Joshua Mitts, and Kristen Underhill
Monday, February 11
“Careers in Teaching: Increasing Diversity” (cosponsored by Student Services)
Speakers: Olatunde Johnson and Elora Mukherjee
Monday, February 18
PRESIDENT’S DAY – NO WORKSHOP
Monday, February 25
“Moving From Private Practice to Teaching”
Speakers: Alex Raskolnikov and Kathryn Judge
Monday, March 4
“Developing Your Research Agenda: Generating Paper Ideas and Then Following Through”
Speakers: Elizabeth Emens and Jessica Bulman-Pozen
Monday, March 11
“Law School Teaching and Careers Other Than Full-Time Faculty”
Speakers: Susan Kraham
Monday, March 18
SPRING BREAK – NO WORKSHOP
Monday, March 25
“Becoming a Clinical Professor”
Speakers: Brett Dignam and Lynnise Pantin
Monday, April 1
“The J.D./Ph.D. Path: How, Why, Necessary?”
Speakers: Maeve Glass and Jeremy Kessler
Monday, April 8
“What to Do When You Are Ready to Teach, and Thoughts About What “Ready” Means in Today’s Market”
Speakers: Christina Ponsa-Kraus and Daniel Richman
Monday, April 15
“Associates, Fellows, and VAPs: Getting Time to Do the Scholarly Work”
Speakers: Steven Koh and James MacLeod
2019-2020 Moot Workshop: Friday, September 13, 2019
Planning to enter the academic teaching market? Sign up for our free, one-day Moot Workshop.
This workshop offers current candidates the opportunity to present their job-talk papers before Columbia faculty and other scholars in order to prepare for the AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference and subsequent callbacks. (The conference will be held this year from October 3-5 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.)
The Moot Workshop also serves as a forum for Columbia community members to develop relationships with each other, renew relationships with professors, and learn more about the job market.
Breakfast, lunch, and coffee will be provided.
Anyone with a CLS connection (including graduates) can apply to present.
How to Apply
Submit a paper abstract and a CV by July 17, 2019, and the paper itself (drafts allowed) by August 12, 2019.
Space and time constraints may preclude us from accepting every paper.
If you are a 2019-2020 candidate and will not finish your paper in time, or you are simply interested in learning more about the process, you can still attend the workshop. All workshop attendees will be expected to read several papers and attend several practice job talks during the course of the day. If more people sign up for the workshop than we can accommodate, we will give preference to those who are registered for this year’s AALS Conference.
Timetable
July 17
Deadline for submitting an abstract of your paper and your CV for the Moot Workshop. Abstracts should be no longer than one page.
July 31
AALS registration deadline for the first distribution of candidates’ FAR forms. We strongly urge candidates to register for this first distribution, as almost all of the most successful candidates on the market have their materials circulated at this time. Learn more about the AALS process.
August 12
Deadline for Moot Workshop participants to submit the paper itself. It will then be distributed to participating faculty.
September 13
Moot Workshop.
October 3-5
AALS Conference.
Direct all correspondence regarding the Moot Workshop, the Candidates’ List, or the Careers in Law Teaching Program—including submissions of Moot Workshop abstracts, CVs, and papers—to the program’s administrative contact, Claire Merrill, at [email protected]