Adjunct Professor

The University of Missouri School of Law is seeking Adjunct Professors to teach various courses during the 2024-2025 academic year that begins in August 2024 and ends in May 2025, as well as in the Summer 2025 session. The subjects include courses in the 1L legal research and writing program (LRW)—Legal Research & Writing in the fall and Advocacy & Research in the spring—as well as upper-level elective courses in Pretrial Litigation, Moot Court I, and Moot Court II.

LEGAL RESEARCH & WRITING AND ADVOCACY & RESEARCH

The University of Missouri School of Law is seeking Adjunct Professors to teach in the 1L legal research and writing program (LRW) for the 2024-2025 academic year that begins in August 2024 and ends in May 2025. The 1L LRW program is a six-credit, two-semester, graded course sequence (three credits each semester), including Legal Research & Writing in the fall and Advocacy & Research in the spring. We seek a candidate who is passionate and reflective about teaching, is dedicated to student learning, and will work collaboratively with other LRW faculty.

The University of Missouri School of Law is a full-time J.D. and LL.M.-granting institution located in Columbia, Missouri. For more information, please see http://law.missouri.edu/. The School of Law strives to foster a diverse faculty committed to effective teaching and to attract a student body with diverse experiences and views. Columbia, Missouri is regularly ranked as one of the most livable cities in the United States.

Course Details:

  • Legal Research & Writing is a 3-credit course that focuses on legal research, writing, logic, and analysis skills and is taught in the fall of the 1L year. Emphasis is placed on communicating/predicting legal analysis using legal logic. The course meets for two 75- minute sessions per week.
  • Advocacy & Research is a 3-credit course that focuses on persuasive writing, legal analysis, oral advocacy, and research techniques and is taught in the spring of the 1L year. Emphasis is placed on using multiple sources of law to analyze, evaluate, and apply the law. Students create persuasive written and oral arguments. The course meets for two 75-minute sessions per week.

Position Details: The individual hired will teach one section of Legal Research & Writing and one section of Advocacy & Research for the 2024-2025 academic year (one course per semester). The individual will be expected to participate in 1L orientation (during August 2024), attend weekly team meetings, be available to students, give detailed feedback, and submit grades.

Qualifications: Applicants must have a J.D. from an accredited law school, and preference will be given to candidates with a strong academic record, excellent legal research and writing skills, and experience in the practice of law. The ideal candidate will also have experience teaching legal research and writing. Appellate practice or other law practice in Missouri is valued.

Application Procedure: Review of resumes will begin immediately. To apply, please submit a cover letter, a resume, and three references to Ben Trachtenberg, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, at trachtenbergb@missouri.edu, or call at (573) 882-7293. You may also contact Anne Alexander, Director of Legal Research & Writing, at alexanderam@missouri.edu or (573) 882-5186. If you have prior teaching experience, please provide a recent set of course evaluations. Materials will be reviewed on an ongoing basis with a start date in August 2024.

We value the uniqueness of every individual and strive to ensure each person’s success. Contributions from individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives promote intellectual pluralism and enable us to achieve the excellence that we seek in learning, research and engagement. This commitment makes our university a better place to work, learn, and innovate.

In your application materials, please discuss your experiences and expertise that support these values and enrich our missions of teaching, research, and engagement.

The University of Missouri is an equal opportunity/ADA institution. To request ADA accommodations, please call the Disability Inclusion and ADA Compliance Manager at (573) 884-7278.

UPPER-LEVEL ELECTIVE COURSES

The University of Missouri School of Law is seeking Adjunct Professors to teach upper-level elective courses during the 2024-2025 academic year that begins in August 2024 and ends in May 2025, as well as during Summer 2025. Depending on the needs of the law school and the availability of applicants, an Adjunct Professor could teach in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Summer 2025, or during a combination of these times.

The University of Missouri School of Law is a full-time J.D. and LL.M.-granting institution located in Columbia, Missouri. For more information, please see http://law.missouri.edu/. The School of Law strives to foster a diverse faculty committed to effective teaching and to attract a student body with diverse experiences and views. Columbia, Missouri is regularly ranked as one of the most livable cities in the United States.

Course Details:

The law school hopes to hire one or more Adjunct Professors to teach some or all of the following courses

  • Pretrial Litigation is a course that focuses on the study of the legal principles, techniques, strategies and skills which pertain to civil pretrial practice, including: Professional and Ethical Considerations, Case Selection Case Investigation, Development of a case theory, Pleading, Discovery, Pretrial Conference, Motion Practice, Settlement Processes and Alternative Dispute Resolution.The course is normally offered as a 3-credit course (meeting twice weekly) but could be offered as a 2-credit course (meeting once weekly) depending on the availability of the instructor. The course is normally offered in person but could be offered as an online (or hybrid) course depending on the availability of the instructor. Instructors available to teach in person would be preferred.
  • Moot Court I and Moot Court II are each 1-credit courses that prepare students to represent the law school in external moot court competitions. Generally, Moot Court I meets in the spring semester and the summer semester, and Moot Court II meets in the fall semester. Students enroll in Moot Court I in spring or summer (but not both) and upon successful completion are eligible to enroll in Moot Court II in the fall. Moot Court I focuses on writing a successful moot court competition brief. Moot Court II focuses on successful moot court oral argument.

    The Moot Court courses can meet either in person or online. For instructors preferring to teach online, preference will be given to those able to meet students at least occasionally in person in Columbia. Preference will be given to applicants willing to commit to teaching for a full year (Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025). As part of their teaching responsibilities, Moot Court instructors normally serve as coaches for some external competition teams (but are not responsible for all of the law school’s external teams). Willingness to travel to some number of competitions (at the law school’s expense) is desirable.

Qualifications: Applicants must have a J.D. from an accredited law school, and preference will be given to candidates with a strong academic record, excellent litigation skills, and experience in the practice of law. Ideal candidates will also have law school teaching experience. Law practice in Missouri is valued.

Application Procedure: Review of resumes will begin immediately. To apply, please submit a cover letter, a resume, and three references to Ben Trachtenberg, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, at trachtenbergb@missouri.edu, or call at (573) 882-7293. If you have prior teaching experience, please provide a recent set of course evaluations. Materials will be reviewed on an ongoing basis with a start date in August 2024 or January 2025.

We value the uniqueness of every individual and strive to ensure each person’s success. Contributions from individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives promote intellectual pluralism and enable us to achieve the excellence that we seek in learning, research and engagement. This commitment makes our university a better place to work, learn, and innovate.

In your application materials, please discuss your experiences and expertise that support these values and enrich our missions of teaching, research, and engagement.

The University of Missouri is an equal opportunity/ADA institution. To request ADA accommodations, please call the Disability Inclusion and ADA Compliance Manager at (573) 884-7278.