Can someone tell me what teaching a law class/clinic is like as an adjunct while working as a lawyer at a firm (big regional firm)?

Also how many years does it usually take to get considered for these positions? Do these positions add to your value at a firm if you’re a senior or mid-level vying for a partner position?

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I'm a senior associate at a small firm. I taught as an adjunct for 2-3 years or so. Overall, it was probably worth it from a resume perspective, as it is a very niche practice area. But the money is basically nothing. And the office politics are insane. Like I had all 4/5 or 5/5 on my reviews, and got called because some student who didn't write a review complained to a university faculty member (not in my program) about how I didn't respond to emails. This was when COVID was starting, and my stepdad died, and I didn't have childcare. I then had to forward to the program director all of the emails I had around that time where I let students know I'd be harder to reach in light of the circumstances, then follow up emails where I tried to get the slacker students to schedule their required office hours, to no avail. Then the program said that they had no issue with my work this year. But apparently TWO YEARS AGO, one student also complained about me to a faculty member. At the time, the complaint wasn't considered serious because it was just a student complaining about having to participate in the class. But they said they were going to look into it again.

No one would tell me what the complaint was, who it came from, etc. My evaluations were almost perfect every semester. After that convo, I told them I would not be teaching anymore. And that I now understood why they had a shortage of adjuncts.

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I enjoyed being able to say I was an adjunct. The students were OK. Some were the typical gunner-type. Others were kind of douchy - like they shouldn't have to participate in the seminar classes and they just wanted to write their paper. I spent an entire class period once on mental health issues for law students (encouraged to do so by the program), and the eye rolling in that one was insane. The hardest part was dealing with very nice students who just... couldn't write. Because you want them to succeed so badly, but you have to remember that this isn't a law firm. This isn't a pleading that will have my name on it. I can't edit it to death.

So no. I can't really say that it was an amazing experience. And I had been a teacher before, so I had teaching experience and enjoyed teaching. But law school is a different ball game.

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Teaching as an adjunct is a huge time commitment. Beyond class time, there’s lesson planning, readings, meeting with students, grading. Most adjuncts teach seminars so usually there is a writing component as well. I did it for one semester and it was just too hard to balance.

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Your can also ask others who teach in this area to share their materials if you don’t want to start from scratch. However, whether folks share depends on a number of factors (e.g., whether they’re the type to share—some aren’t).

First time you teach is literally 10x more time consuming than after.

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How do people find these adjunct positions?

It’s also not uncommon for schools to have open adjunct positions listen on their website. You can apply there. But the way it works at the school I work at is like any other: networking is best and will get you farther.

Edited to include that several years of work experience is common to be considered, around 5 years, but this may vary from school to school.

Not sure about a clinic. However, a law class is a huge time commitment. If you Google the question, you’ll typically get back that it takes about 4-6 hours of prep for each hour you spend teaching.

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