Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) is pleased to announce that its Faculty Recruitment Initiative (powered by iLaw) is now operational for applicants. It will open to law schools (who are seeking to hire) in June.
With the technical expertise of iLaw, SEALS has designed this new website with an eye towards transforming the hiring process. This recruitment service will enable schools to search for both entry-level candidates and lateral candidates. It will also enable schools to search for visiting professors, emeritus professors, and VAPs (visiting assistant professors). To assist lateral candidates, who may not want to have their materials open to the entire world, candidates can select the schools who should (or should not) be given access to their materials
Not only does this initiative expand the range of applicants, it brings the recruiting process into the twenty-first century. Working with iLaw, the faculty recruitment website brings technological innovation to the recruitment process. Not only may applicants upload their CV’s, but they can upload many other materials, including short personal video introductions, job talks, copies of published scholarship and statements regarding their research agendas. Applicants can also list the courses they prefer to teach, and the areas of country where they would like to teach.
For law schools, we hope this expanded list of information will simplify and lower the costs of the faculty recruitment process. SEALS does not intend to charge member schools for using the faculty recruitment website. In addition, the website may obviate the need to send full recruitment teams to conferences. Recruitment teams will have far more materials at their disposal than ever before, and therefore may better evaluate candidates in advance. Schools may conduct initial interviews by Skype (or some other comparable system), or they may limit their interviewing team to faculty already planning to attend the SEALS meeting (eliminating duplicate costs). For schools who still wish to conduct their interviews in-person, SEALS is offering bungalow suites with full living rooms.
For applicants, the SEALS website will lower the cost of searching for an initial position. Instead of charging the nearly $500 fee charged by the AALS, SEALS will charge applicants only $160. For that price, not only will applicants be able to upload their materials to the SEALS/iLaw website, they will also be allowed to attend the SEALS annual meeting without having to pay an additional registration fee. Other applicants will also be required to pay the $160 fee, but any applicant who pays the fee can post his/her materials until this April, attend the entire SEALS meeting, and can book rooms at the SEALS annual meeting at the conference rate.
To assist entry-level faculty, SEALS will be offering two workshops. The first, the Prospective Law Teachers Workshop, provides intensive training for those seeking entry-level positions. It allows applicants to make mock job talks, participate in mock job interviews, and have their CVs intensively reviewed. The program gives applicants substantial feedback with mentors and commenters. Because of the intensive nature of this workshop, applicants must apply and be selected for this workshop. Participants need not pay extra for this workshop.
For those who are not accepted into the Prospective Law Teachers Workshop, and for those who just want to learn about the teaching profession and the paths for entry, SEALS will also offer an Aspiring Law Teachers Workshop. This workshop will provide two days of programming on the ins and outs of the teaching profession, the routes for entering that profession, and the things that candidates can do to make themselves marketable. Participants also need not pay extra for this workshop.
SEALS has a broad concept of diversity and inclusion. Under the SEALS corporate charter, membership in SEALS or participation in any SEALS activity shall not be denied to any individual or institution, or abridged, on the account of race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, ideology or political affiliation, gender expression or identity (including a transgender identity), marital status, sexual orientation, age, national or ethnic origin, veteran or military status or disability. We ask potential employers and applicants to respect and adhere to our non-discrimination policies.
SEALS and iLaw are committed to ensuring that the recruitment website fully complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you encounter any barriers to your effective use of this site, please notify both SEALS and iLaw immediately. We will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that you can fully and efficiently access the website and the materials available on the faculty recruitment website.