Is this a Jewish thing?

Watch out -- between this and the VC post, you may turn off all your law prof readership by the time DL comes back.

Many law faculty would be uncertain that a non-academic would sufficiently understand the academic enterprise, the classroom pressures experienced by law teachers, or meaning of academic freedom, and the importance to faculty of the scholarly aspects of the profession. And, judging by some senior partners who have assumed academic roles at my school, there is also a culture shock issue when somebody hired out of practice to head an academic program doesn't understand the nature of collegial decision-making and the slower pace at which things get done in an academic setting.

The academic disdain for practicing lawyers is disgusting and accounts for some of the worst elements of law school.

I happily have nothing but disdain for professors. These are some of the brightest legal minds in the country but they have chosen to contribute NOTHING of value to legal practice, instead, choosing to be lazy and write about arcane garbage.

"the slower pace at which things get done in an academic setting"

In other words, law profs are highly resistant to having a boss who would want them to work hard. At least you're upfront about it.

As an aside, I would note that the Paul M. Hebert Law Center does not have a "dean," it has a "chancellor." And the #1 job of the chancellor is basically to beg for money. Seems to me that a respected partner like Weiss would be better at gathering donations from other law firm partners than would a random associate dean with no apparent ties to the state.

this makes sense. after all, since when does law school have anything to do with the practice of law?

Another law prof - I'm with you. It's not academic disdain for practicing lawyers, it's recognizing when a fish is out of water. A law professor wouldn't presume that he or she could just float into a managing partnership at a law firm, so why is the opposite presumption acceptable? He's never even been a professor or held a position in an academic setting, from what I can tell.

What's with the disdain for professors, anyway? I loved most of my professors in law school and thought they were some of the most brilliant people I've ever met. Sure, there were duds, but there are duds everywhere. Most of the duds I had were adjuncts who were practitioners and just weren't up on new theories and scholarship. I know this isn't important to everybody, but that's a major way of assessing faculty excellence. I did have one wonderful adjunct, but he'd been in academia before going into private practice.

After reading Mr. Weiss' bio no wonder the profs don't like him. He has a resume superior to just about all if not all of the current profs and he was highly successful in the real world.

"Mr. Weiss served as a senior law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1973, and as a law clerk to the Honorable John Minor Wisdom in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1971 to 1972. He earned his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude in 1971 from Harvard Law School, where he was Treasurer and Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated cum laude in 1968 with an A.B. degree from Yale University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa."

After reading Mr. Weiss' bio no wonder the profs don't like him. He has a resume superior to just about all if not all of the current profs and he was highly successful in the real world.

"Mr. Weiss served as a senior law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1973, and as a law clerk to the Honorable John Minor Wisdom in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1971 to 1972. He earned his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude in 1971 from Harvard Law School, where he was Treasurer and Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated cum laude in 1968 with an A.B. degree from Yale University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa."

I went to LSU Law and they have fine professors and I trust their judgment. If they think this guy isn't right for LSU Law then people should believe them. Besides, they know their law school better than other people. Weiss might be a great Chancellor (LSU doesn't call him a Law Dean) somewhere else but maybe he just isn't the right fit there and maybe the others guys are. Finally remember, the ABA standards state a university should not hire a law school dean “over the stated objection of a substantial majority of the faculty.”

You need to get out of chambers and into the real world. A "prestigious" resume is not a like a high test score that qualifies you for admission to any job.

After reading Mr. Weiss' bio no wonder the profs don't like him. He has a resume superior to just about all if not all of the current profs and he was highly successful in the real world.

"Mr. Weiss served as a senior law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1973, and as a law clerk to the Honorable John Minor Wisdom in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1971 to 1972. He earned his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude in 1971 from Harvard Law School, where he was Treasurer and Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated cum laude in 1968 with an A.B. degree from Yale University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa."

I've known Mr. Weiss for years, and in addition to being a supremely qualified candidate, he's also a wonderfully nice man.

After reading Mr. Weiss' bio no wonder the profs don't like him. He has a resume superior to just about all if not all of the current profs and he was highly successful in the real world.

"Mr. Weiss served as a senior law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1973, and as a law clerk to the Honorable John Minor Wisdom in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1971 to 1972. He earned his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude in 1971 from Harvard Law School, where he was Treasurer and Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated cum laude in 1968 with an A.B. degree from Yale University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa."

After reading Mr. Weiss' bio no wonder the profs don't like him. He has a resume superior to just about all if not all of the current profs and he was highly successful in the real world.

"Mr. Weiss served as a senior law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1973, and as a law clerk to the Honorable John Minor Wisdom in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1971 to 1972. He earned his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude in 1971 from Harvard Law School, where he was Treasurer and Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated cum laude in 1968 with an A.B. degree from Yale University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa."

I used to work at Gibson Dunn in NY. Weiss is very smart but has a reputation for only working with hot female associates. Being neither hot nor female, I never did much work for him.

2:10-
"These are some of the brightest legal minds in the country but they have chosen to contribute NOTHING of value to legal practice"

They have decided to forgo the potential to earn HUGE salaries (most of law professors at the top tier schools had credentials at graduation that would have firm recruiting departments salivating) in order teach.

After reading Mr. Weisser's bio no wonder the profs don't like him. He has a resume inferior to just about all if not all of the current profs and he was highly unsuccessful in the real world.

"Mr. Weisser served as a senior law clerk to Justice Rolf Larsen in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1972 to 1973, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Silvestri Silvestri in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court from 1971 to 1972. He earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1971 from Southwestern Law School where he was Treasurer and Managing Editor of the Law Review. He graduated in 1968 with an A.B. degree from Norther South Dakota University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa."

3:45-

"They have decided to forgo the potential to earn HUGE salaries (most of law professors at the top tier schools had credentials at graduation that would have firm recruiting departments salivating) in order teach."

And what a job they do teaching. Anyone who has been through law school knows that (many) law professors don't spend a hell of a lot of time devoted to their students.

They forego the huge salaries because they are LAZY and don't want to have to do real work. Instead, they spend hours researching useless arcana to produce so-called scholarship.

Legal academia is notoriously competitive and credential-driven. I, seriously, don't understand what you people are talking about. Professors are far from slackers, it's just that most of their work isn't in full student view (because most law students are completely linear and myopic). Most students see professors teach and grade and presume that's all they do - far from it.

My professors were, for the most part, committed to students and very active in the academy with respect to publications, conference papers, etc. I didn't attend a top-tier law school, either.

I wonder if someone could post and comment on Weiss' resume. I don't think I've seen that yet.

Having sat on a law school dean search committee, my perception is that law faculty are not against the notion of a non-professor as dean per se. Witness, for instance, Duke's recent appointment of a federal judge.

I suspect this decision has more to do with the individual people involved. That is to say, the fact that Mr. Weiss is not the choice of the faculty may have more to do with the faculty's preference for the other two candidates. I have some knowledge of the work of one of the other candidates, and I think he would make a great dean.

At the same time, there is rightfully a preference among law faculty for a "known" as opposed to an "unkown" quantity. Deans rarely "make" a law school, but they can easily "break" it. Deans might be able to inspire faculty research and top teaching, but my guess is their role is somewhat limited by the trajectory, tradition, and culture of a school. But a dean who puts his own interests above the school's, or ignores the delicate politics of a law faculty, can easily engender an environment where professors are demoralized and either underperform or seek other positions.

This is not to say that a practicing lawyer will necessarily have that effect. But with someone who isn't active in law professor circles, there may be a much greater risk. Given talented and proven "safe" candidates, LSU's preference is not surprising

lets hear some more gossip about those hot female associates he allegedly works with

anti-semites in louisiana? sounds plausible to me

3:31, that is ridiculous and completely unfounded.

Why would he want to go from being a BigLaw partner in New York to being an academic administrator/fundraiser in a TTT state like Louisiana?

well, according to one of the commenters, it's b/c he's lazy

I don't why the faculty at LSU would not support Weiss (my suspicion is that it has primarily to do with his career outside of academia), but he would make a fine chancellor.

Many of these comments make it appear as though Mr. Weiss does not understand academia and could not function there. This is simply not so. I have attended classes he has taught at both LSU and Columbia Law Schools. He is a fantastic teacher. His presentations to the Practising Law Institute are beautifully crafted and always well received by a very tough audience of his peers. While he may be first and foremost an experienced, highly capable lawyer, his personal attributes would enable him to fit in beautifully in the academic community. He works very well with people, is an excellent listener and actively solicits advice. He understands and respects the contributions that scholars make to the law. He has an abiding interest in the history of developments in the law. He would be an impressive ambassador for LSU throughout the country, fitting in equaly well with academics and practicing attorneys