Review timeline: Completed applications will be reviewed when openings arise. Appointments for the fall semester are usually reviewed in January and for the spring semester in July. Applicants who remain interested in consideration after the final deadline will need to submit a new application.
Position duration: Positions may be for one semester or for the full academic year, with the possibility of renewal. Appointments may be renewed based on need, funding, and performance.
Application Window Open date: March 12, 2024
Most recent review date: Thursday, Sep 26, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications received after this date will be reviewed by the search committee if the position has not yet been filled.
Final date: Friday, Dec 13, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
Position description
Berkeley Law is generating an applicant pool of qualified instructors should openings arise.
Berkeley Law is one of the premier law schools in the United States. Our programs are demanding, engaging, hands-on, and selective. As with all our faculty, we expect our lecturers to demonstrate a strong commitment to academic rigor and intellectual diversity.
The J.D. and LL.M. programs are host to a diverse and constantly evolving curriculum. Hundreds of courses are offered, including dozens in our top-ranked Law and Technology, Business Law, International Law, Environmental Law, and Social Justice programs.
This pool encompasses courses on intellectual property law, copyright, patent and patent litigation, trademark, trade secret, regulated digital industries, privacy, cybersecurity, computer programming, biotechnology and life sciences innovation law, computer law, videogame law, art and cultural property, entertainment law, computer crime law, wine and alcoholic beverages law, Artificial Intelligence and the law, law governing use of Name, Image & Likeness, and other major and emerging practice areas in law and technology. Courses offerings include lecture courses and experiential center courses.
Please apply to the specialized pool that aligns with the subject matter of the course you apply to teach. We will only consider an applicant if the subject matter of their proposed course aligns with the pool to which you apply.
Instructors for lecture courses are appointed in the Lecturer title; instructors for experiential center courses are appointed to the Field Work Supervisor title. The applicant selected will have important teaching responsibilities, including preparation of course materials (such as the syllabus) and maintenance of a course website, and will also be expected to hold office hours, assess and offer feedback on student work, assign grades, advise students.
UC Lecturers and Field Work Supervisors are academic appointees in an organized bargaining unit and are exclusively represented by the American Federation of Teachers - Unit 18
Berkeley Law is interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their teaching.
Qualifications Basic qualifications (required at time of application) Bachelor's degree, or equivalent international degree, is required at the time of application.
Additional qualifications (required at time of start) J.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. or Master's degree, or equivalent international degree, or Bachelor's degree combined with a minimum of five years professional experience. required by the start date.
Preferred qualifications Experience teaching courses in a United States law school, with outstanding student and peer evaluations; More than five years legal practice experience in the United States or another jurisdiction, in the area of Intellectual Property and Technology Law.
Application Requirements
Document requirements Teaching evaluations and/or other materials or information may be requested of top candidates.
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Statement of Teaching - Please address the following questions related to your teaching at Berkeley Law. Please limit your response to 300 words. --- How does your proposed course align with your legal work or legal practice? --- What would be your pedagogical approach to teaching the course? --- Have you taught in a law school before? If so, where, when, and what subjects did you teach?
Finalist candidates will be asked for copies of any student teaching evaluations.
Courses of Interest - Please provide a one-to-two-paragraph course proposal for any course you are interested in teaching. Each course proposal must align with the subject matter of the specialized pool to which you are applying. For example, if you want to teach a business law course, you should apply to the Business Law pool and your course proposal must be for a business law course.
Statement on Support of a Diverse Student Body - Berkeley Law has a very diverse student body. Please provide a statement describing how you approach teaching to provide a fair and inclusive learning environment and support students of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. If you have not taught previously, please describe how you have approached working with or managing people of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. For additional information go to https://ofew.berkeley.edu/recruitment/contributions-diversity.
This Statement on Contributions to Support of Diversity is not required. However, ability and skill in teaching and working with our diverse student body and in an environment characterized by diversity in all dimensions are factors considered in evaluation of candidates applying to teach at Berkeley Law. (Optional)
UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).
The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.
In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.
As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.
The University of California was chartered in 1868 and its flagship campus - envisioned as a "City of Learning" - was established at Berkeley, on San Francisco Bay. Today the world's premier public university and a wellspring of innovation, UC Berkeley occupies a 1,232 acre campus with a sylvan 178-acre central core. From this home its academic community makes key contributions to the economic and social well-being of the Bay Area, California, and the nation.