Visiting Assistant Professor and Lawyering Program Associate Director

Job Description

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, located in Baltimore, seeks applicants for a full-time, non-tenure-track Visiting Assistant Professor position serving as an Associate Director of our Lawyering Program. This will be a one-year appointment, running July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027. The Visiting Assistant Professor will teach Lawyering courses and assist the Lawyering faculty director with oversight of the program, including curriculum development and mentorship of other faculty teaching in the program, and co‑teaching and mentoring student writing fellows in the program.

The Lawyering program forms an integral part of the first‑year JD curriculum and gives students a strong foundation in the lawyering skills essential to practicing in today's legal profession. In the program, students act in the role of attorneys engaged in simulated cases that incorporate topics drawn from other foundational law school courses. They review case files, develop a factual record, interact with simulated clients, opposing counsel, lawyers, and judges.

Students present effective legal analyses in a variety of formats, including privileged internal documents, professional communications, formal court submissions, and oral arguments. By participating in this simulation‑based program, students not only learn critical lawyering skills but develop their understanding of legal doctrines, principles, and theories underlying the practice of law, consistent with Maryland Carey Law's tradition of integrating doctrine, theory, and practice.

All first‑year students enroll in Lawyering I in the fall semester and Lawyering II in the spring semester, and all Lawyering sections use the same simulated case files. During the fall semester, students focus primarily on objective (predictive) analysis. Students prepare legal office memoranda that analyze key legal issues. In addition, they gain exposure to several corresponding lawyering skills that may include drafting client letters and professional emails, conducting a client interview, negotiating a settlement agreement, and drafting or revising contracts.

In the spring semester, students shift focus from objective analysis to persuasive argumentation (advocacy). Students continue to develop their legal analytical skills but adapt their analysis for adversarial documents filed with a court, such as memoranda supporting trial court motions and appellate court briefs. The first‑year program culminates with mock appellate oral arguments.

• Provide academic instruction in support of courses associated with the Lawyering Program.
• Teach two sections of Lawyering I (3 credits) in the Fall semester and two sections of Lawyering II (3 credits) in the Spring semester to approximately 30‑35 students each semester (about fifteen students per section). This includes teaching the course, providing extensive written feedback on student drafts and final submissions throughout the semester, holding office hours and individual conferences with students throughout the semester, assessing student performance, and assigning grades.
• In collaboration with the faculty Director of Lawyering, design and deliver the Lawyering curriculum, including the drafting of simulation problems and related teaching materials for Lawyering I and Lawyering II.
• Assist in the oversight and support of the law school's Lawyering Program, which may include teaching and supervision of student writing fellows, supporting the Legal Writing Center, and training and mentorship of graduate teaching fellows and adjuncts teaching in the program.

Minimum Qualifications:

• J.D. degree with a record of high academic achievement from an ABA‑accredited law school.
• At least three years of legal practice experience, one of which may include a judicial clerkship.
• Demonstrated enthusiasm for teaching legal writing and lawyering skills.
• Preferred prior experience teaching legal analysis and writing or lawyering skills in a law school or comparable setting.

Applications accepted online only at https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). (search "lawyering").

Interested applicants…