BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW is hiring for a Full-time Faculty Position for its Transactional Law Program.

Job Description

Boston University School of Law invites applications from experienced practitioners for a full- time faculty position directing and teaching in the School of Law’s Transactional Law Program (TLP), commencing January 1, 2024. This position is a non-tenure track role that will provide a long-term, renewable contract at the academic rank of Professor of the Practice, in addition to the title of Director of the TLP.

The TLP commenced in the 2011-12 academic year. Since July 2012, the TLP has been directed by a single Director and Professor of the Practice of Law, who will be retiring at the end of 2023. The principal objective of the Program is to teach students key transactional practice lawyering skills that they will need when they graduate and enter legal practice. The Program currently consists principally of two groups of simulation-based courses—a foundational course entitled Contract Drafting and Transaction Simulation courses.

Contract Drafting teaches students basic principles and skills of drafting and analyzing commercial and transaction agreements, with a focus on recognizing, and addressing through contractual provisions, key legal business issues in transactions. The Transaction Simulation courses teach more advanced transactional lawyering skills by simulating a single transaction in which students practice the key legal tasks that attorneys would be required to perform at each stage of the transaction from inception to closing. In the 2022-23 academic year, there were twelve sections of Contract Drafting, including one section exclusively for LLM students, and five Transaction Simulation courses. The instructors for these courses include the TLP Director and Assistant Director, one full-time faculty Senior Lecturer, and ten part-time faculty members comprised of experienced transactional practitioners at varying stages of their careers. In the current academic year, these courses will be taken by approximately 160 students, over 20% of the student body.

The current duties and responsibilities of the Director of the TLP include:

• TLP curriculum development, review and modification, including annual review and updating, of Contract Drafting teaching materials (substantially all of which have been developed by the TLP) for dissemination to the Contract Drafting instructors;
• Teaching in the TLP;
• Recruiting and hiring part-time faculty to teach in the TLP, including to develop and teach new Transaction Simulation courses;
• Providing substantial assistance, comprised of pedagogical, syllabus development and other advice to instructors with respect to both existing and new Transaction Simulation courses;
• Coordinating with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Assistant Director for Academic Affairs, and the Registrar’s Office in annually assembling and publishing the TLP curriculum as part of the School of Law’s overall course offerings;
• Reviewing, revising, and approving information regarding the TLP published for external constituencies, including on the BU Law website;
• Determining, and modifying or waiving as appropriate, the required and elective courses comprising the Transactional Practice Concentration;
• Reviewing student evaluations of TLP courses in connection with annual review/evaluation of TLP instructors, and periodically visiting and assessing TLP classes as part of regular review and evaluation process for part-time faculty;
• Advising students on transactional law career paths, job search strategies, and networking opportunities, in conjunction with the Career Development Office; and
• Assigning responsibilities to, working with, and annually evaluating, the Assistant Director of the TLP in assisting with the above-referenced duties and responsibilities.

Required Skills

The TLP is an important and distinguishing feature of BU Law. The Program has grown substantially over eleven years under the leadership of the existing Director, and the new Director will play a major role in shaping its future direction and development. The search committee is particularly interested in candidates with seven or more years of experience doing sophisticated business transactions, successful teaching experience in law school courses or other experience training or mentoring students or attorneys, and superior organizational and communication skills.

Boston University School of Law is a top-tier law school with an international reputation with a community of leading legal scholars, teachers, students, and alumni who are dedicated to providing one of the finest legal educations in the world. Since our doors opened in 1872, we have admitted and enrolled accomplished students to our program regardless of their race, gender, and religion. The breadth and depth of our curriculum and scholarship as well as our innovative spirit are distinctive in American legal education.

At Boston University School of Law, we are dedicated to building a just, inclusive, and engaged community of faculty, staff, and students. We recognize we have more work to do to achieve this vision. Boston University School of Law is committed not only to the ideals of faculty diversity and inclusion but also to the work of creating and implementing practices that combat exclusion and inequity by race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, religion, and other identities subject to historical subordination. We also strive to foster a more inclusive intellectual culture that represents and encourages a broad range of intellectual traditions and approaches to the law. We welcome expressions of interest from applicants of all identities, intellectual traditions, and perspectives.

To Apply

Applicants should email a letter of interest and resume to Professor David I. Walker, Chair, Transactional Law Program Director Search Committee, at lawappts@bu.edu. While applications will be accepted until a new Director is appointed, interested parties are encouraged to submit their materials before August 25, 2023, to ensure full consideration. Do not apply through the BU Careers Website.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.