Preparing its students for careers in law teaching and legal scholarship is a significant part of the mission of Harvard Law School. 11% of all law professors at American law schools are HLS graduates.
If you are a non-HLS student or graduate and are interested in applying for an entry-level position here at Harvard, please use the Association of American Law Schools and its Faculty Appointments Register.
Law Teaching and Advising
The Law Teaching Advising section of the HLS website can provide students with a great deal of information to guide their consideration of law teaching as a career. Students who would like more information about pursuing a career in law teaching may contact Susannah Barton Tobin, Assistant Dean for Academic Career Advising. To add your name to the Law Teaching ListServ please
self-subscribe, or contact Susannah Barton Tobin (Instructions when clicking the “self-subscribe” link: If you are asked to sign in, please use the first part of your email address (everything before the @ sign) as your username and your Harvard Key password as your password. Then select “All Lists” from the left navigation column and scroll down to “lawteaching (Networking for HLSers Interested in Law Teaching).” Click the “Subscribe” option right beneath it).
Fellowships and Programs to Prepare Students for Law Teaching
Residential Academic Fellowships
HLS also offers a large number of residential academic fellowships for those moving toward a career as law professors. HLS residential academic fellows use their time here to prepare for entry-level law teaching jobs by undertaking original research and writing and becoming members of the community of HLS and Harvard University scholars.
Joint, Coordinated, and Concurrent Degree Programs
HLS also offers a number of joint, coordinated, and concurrent degree programs that are frequently valuable to students preparing for careers in legal research and law teaching.
Idea Makers: Research, Writing, and the Path to Law Teaching at Harvard Law School
View a short film about becoming a law professor at HLS, starring former Dean and now Justice Elena Kagan, along with former Dean Martha Minow; Professors Jon Hanson, Randall Kennedy, and Charles Ogletree; now-Senator Elizabeth Warren; and many others.