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Institutions

Dear Colleagues,

At SEALS’s 2019 annual meeting, we will host our first faculty recruitment conference. The conference will be open to prospective faculty, as well as to existing faculty who wish to lateral to other institutions. It will also be open to visiting and emeritus faculty, as well as to VAPs.

We hope that this conference will be a major benefit to member schools by lowering the cost of faculty recruitment. For the first year, both SEALS member schools and non-member schools will be able to access the application materials for free. After the first year, non- member schools will be charged $500 (the same as the AALS charges it member schools and the same price as SEALS dues).

In creating this conference, we worked with iLaw to create a platform that is designed to be both innovative and transformative. The design includes a number of technological tools that are geared to provide you with far more information about applicants than you may be accustomed to having available. Included may be such things as curriculum vitae, short introductory video statements, mock job talks, copies of published scholarship, a statement regarding scholarly research agendas, and other information. Applicants also can indicate the areas of the country that interest them.  Further, in an effort to create a better way for lateral candidates to access the job market, and select specific schools that they would like to be able to view their application materials, as well as designate schools that should not be given access to their materials.

Another objective of the conference is to lower the cost to applicants. Applicants need only pay $160 (as opposed to the nearly $500 charged by AALS) to have their materials included on the faculty recruitment website. For that price, an applicant will be able to post application materials until the following April, will be allowed to participate without additional charge in the next SEALS Annual Meeting, and will be able to book any available conference block hotel rooms at the conference rate.

Because of the large quantity of materials that will be available on the faculty recruitmentwebsite, participating schools may decide that they do not need to send their entire appointments committee to the SEALS meeting.  They will be able to view, not only an applicant’s CV, but also potentially a video introduction and a job talk. Law schools may decide to conduct initial job interviews by Skype or Zoom or some other videoconferencing method (as some schools already do) and to send only a few faculty members to SEALS to actually meet applicants in person. These faculty members may be individuals who are already planning to attend SEALS’ Annual Meeting anyway. Thus, there may be no special expense for interviewing at the SEALS faculty recruitment conference.  In addition, in order to facilitate the recruitment process, bungalow suites with full living rooms will be available for rental.

Even without the faculty recruitment conference, we anticipate that a number of applicants will already be present at our annual meeting. SEALS plans to again offers a Prospective Law Teachers Workshop for potential law teachers.  This workshop will involve extensive simulation experiences that give applicants the chance to engage in mock interviews and job talks.  CV review will also be offered.

SEALS will also offer an Aspiring Law Teachers Workshop this year for those who feel that they are not ready for (or who are not accepted into) the Prospective Law Teachers Workshop, or who simply want to learn more about a career in law teaching. This workshop will not involve simulations or mentors, but will include two days of programming designed to inform participants about the process for becoming a law professor, the general expectations and requirements for applicants, and the ins and outs of the law faculty appointments process.

SEALS has a broad concept of diversity and inclusion. Under the SEALS corporate charter, membership in SEALS or participation in any SEALS activity shall not be denied to any individual or institution, or abridged, on the account of race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, ideology or political affiliation, gender expression or identity (including a transgender identity), marital status, sexual orientation, age, national or ethnic origin, veteran or military status or disability.

We ask potential employers and applicants to respect and adhere to our non-discrimination policies.

SEALS and iLaw are committed to ensuring that the recruitment website is in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you encounter any barriers to your effective use of this site, please notify both SEALS and iLaw as soon as possible. We will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that you can fully and efficiently access the website and the materials available on the recruitment website.