SMU ousts law school dean

[gostangs]

I highly trust the view of two guys who know a bit about law schools - Dedman and Boone. If they are for it (they are) then it is the right move.

[smustatesman]

Heard rumor that an offer to head law school has been extended to Joseph Dilg, Esq., was Managing Partner of Vinson & Elkins. Joe is a native of Grapevine, Texas, and an SMU alum. Can anyone confirm ?

[giacfsp]

My wife likes him a lot, but while I was there, I didn't think he was anything special. Hopefully we can find a qualified, dynamic Texan to take the reigns.

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The dean has to be Texan? Talk about limiting the pool of candidates ... (and that would be REINS ... )

[Cadillac]

No, I was just being overly tribalistic I'm surprized it took so long for someone to point it out.

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[PonyKai]

If it's indeed the Managing Partner of a top 10 firm with an SMU B.A. which previously had been doing some serious growth in HOU and DAL, quick and dirty it looks like a great hire. The profession and education are moving in a new direction, and I like the idea of bringing in someone qualified from the practice field as opposed to hiring the current Dean at, say, Baylor, or the assistant Dean at something like UT or Vandy.

[birddogger]

Didn't attend SMU Law, but I firmly believe that a dean with real-world skills, experience and connection makes for the best leadership. Good luck with the search!

[tristatecoog]

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... ngs/page+3

Rankings show SMU and Baylor tied at #51 and Houston at #57.

UT #16
OU #82
Tulsa #99
TX Tech #101
Rest in Texas are below #145.

Do you need a dean that knocks on corporate law doors or one that raises money, is hip with new technology and hires good career placement folks?

[CalallenStang]

Do you need a dean that knocks on corporate law doors or one that raises money, is hip with new technology and hires good career placement folks?

Yes

[Digetydog]

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings/page+3

Do you need a dean that knocks on corporate law doors or one that raises money, is hip with new technology and hires good career placement folks?

Yes. IMHO - the sole purpose of a law school is to find good jobs for its graduates. In today's legal market, that is doubly true.

Simply put, law schools are churning out entirely too many lawyers every year. The schools that "win" will be the ones that find jobs for their students.

[Digetydog]

Below is an interesting take on law schools in the Volokh Conspiracy website.
" Some of the new schools are intended for regions where law schools are scarce or are being built to round out a university’s suite of professional schools. But many of them are likely to find themselves competing for a shrinking pool of would-be lawyers and sending hopeful graduates into one of the toughest markets in years for law jobs.

Indiana Tech’s new law school in Fort Wayne will be the state’s fifth when it opens this fall. The law school the University of North Texas plans to open in Dallas next year will be just down the road from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, and less than an hour’s drive from one in Fort Worth that Texas A&M University is in the process of buying from Texas Wesleyan University, one of nine in the state.

The numbers don’t favor these new schools. Last year the pool of law-school applicants shrank to about 68,000, down about 13% from 2011 and more than 30% from the past decade’s peak of about 100,000 in 2004, according to the Law School Admission Council, a nonprofit group that administers the Law School Admission Test and compiles admissions data."

http://www.volokh.com/2013/02/01/more-n ... s-opening/

[tristatecoog]

I heard that the law dean wouldn't share space or resources with other departments on campus (i.e., was exceedingly territorial). Not good when you report to a new provost. I suppose even Niemi at Cox partners with the rest of SMU much better.

Digetydog, very interesting article. UNT will have the toughest time with graduation rates, and A&M isn't far behind it. Does UNT have an angle to get applicants? Part-time focus? Strength in any specialties? Relative cost is obviously a draw but is it enough vs. TX Tech, St Mary's and Wesleyan?

[Digetydog]

I heard that the law dean wouldn't share space or resources with other departments on campus (i.e., was exceedingly territorial). Not good when you report to a new provost. I suppose even Niemi at Cox partners with the rest of SMU much better.

Digetydog, very interesting article. UNT will have the toughest time with graduation rates, and A&M isn't far behind it. Does UNT have an angle to get applicants? Part-time focus? Strength in any specialties? Relative cost is obviously a draw but is it enough vs. TX Tech, St Mary's and Wesleyan?

One of the biggest problems UNT Law grads will face is a complete lack of an alumni base. In legal job searches, networking often involves reaching out to alums for jobs/leads.

UT Law has been sending 500(ish) new lawyers into the job market for decades. Every big firm in Texas has UT, UH, Baylor and/or SMU alums working there. All of the established law schools have hundreds, if not thousands of grads working in Texas.

In contrast, UNT law school grads will have nobody to call. Their only "network" will be UNT undergrads.

[SoCal_Pony]

In contrast, UNT law school grads will have nobody to call. Their only "network" will be UNT undergrads.

Ouch

[East Coast Mustang]

Another indictment of Attasanio recently was the subpar bar passage rates- we were something like third from the bottom last year behind Texas Southern and Texas Wesleyan. Someone can double check those stats for me- I'm sure I'm wrong; but they were really f'ing bad. Coupled with a drop in the rankings and the emergence of Baylor and UH Law, it was time for a change. Also, he's apparently a complete c-sucker

[East Coast Mustang]

Sorry for the language