I have the pleasure of reporting that our new dean is Martin Brinkley, who is a partner of the Smith, Anderson firm in Raleigh. Martin is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College (class of 1987) and UNC's Law School (class of 1992). He was an articles editor of the North Carolina Law Review, then he went on to a clerkship with Judge Sam Ervin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and many years corporate practice with Smith, Anderson. Martin, who is a former president of the North Carolina Bar Association, is a beloved and deeply respected member of the North Carolina legal community.
People here are very much looking forward to Martin's leadership. As I said to Hannah Smoot of the Raleigh News and Observer I think the appointment of a practicing lawyer as dean reflects the shift we're seeing in legal education, towards more experiential learning. (And on further reflection I'd add that it also is part of the desire to strengthen and renew connections between legal education and the bar; and that it is part of UNC's particular focus on our deep and important connections to our state and our duty to service to our state.) Martin will bring together a lot of our constituencies and help us manage the changes that are necessary in legal education. I hope and expect that the students and alumni will also be very excited by his appointment. These are exciting times in Chapel Hill!
The image is of Chancellor Carol Folt introducing Martin Brinkley (on the left). Provost James Dean is in the rear.
The press release says he will remain as of counsel to his firm. Dean Allard of Brooklyn has a similar arrangement where he continues to practice while serving as Dean (Dean Allard, unlike the incoming UNC Dean, is at a stand-alone law school with the additional duties of a President). Dean seems like a time consuming job (and President and Dean presumably even more so), and I wonder how they do it on a less than full time basis, and whether they get paid as well as someone doing the Deaning as their sole job.
That's Judge Sam J. Ervin III (not Erwin). My judge and a truly great clerkship!
[Thanks, Mary; I've got that corrected.]
Interesting process. It appears the committee submitted two names. The person it wanted and a distinguished younger person with no UNC ties and very little relevant experience.
It's a very good sign for legal education that law schools are now hiring practioners for these sorts of positions. Hopefully other schools follow suit.
I think the Dean should come from Academia as they otherwise aren't going to know how to best navigate the bureaucratic hurdles in legal education. A very poor decision in my opinion.
[Martin's a very talented man and I'm looking forward to his deanship. We have a lot of people on this faculty who have tons of experience in legal education who're going to help navigating the bureaucracy side of things, to the extent that's necessary, me included. Al Brophy]
As a former Carolina faculty member who stills cares deeply about the Law School, I am excited about Martin's appointment. My "Carolina dean", Dickson Phillips, whom I have come to appreciate more and more, was more a product of his practicing years than his teaching years. The same talents that make a person a successful partner in a law firm – good judgment, ability to work with others, flexibility, . . . – make for an effective dean. If I had been a partner at King & Spalding before serving as dean at Emory, I never would have been fired.
David Epstein
In addition, it is critical that law schools do a better job of connecting to the non-academic world, since that is where almost all students seek to be employed. This is one good move in that direction.
Jeff Harrison, what are you talking about?! There is nothing supporting what you just said.
AnonLawProf wrote: "I think the Dean should come from Academia as they otherwise aren't going to know how to best navigate the bureaucratic hurdles in legal education. A very poor decision in my opinion."
Question, AnonLawProf: Can't one learn to navigate the bureaucratic hurdles?? Following your logic, people should be pigeonholed in one field for life since one could never learn to navigate the bureaucratic hurdles found in a different type of institution. In fact, given how the bureaucracies of colleges and universities differ significantly, how could anyone ever change institutions and survive!!??
I am not sure how many academics would want that job. NC seems to be running neck-and-neck with SC and OK as the most hostile states to higher education. Good luck. Maybe he can find private $$$$.
Aanon: I have no idea. I thought I read two names were sent over and one was this fellow and the other a young woman. I was obviously wrong. I am looking forward to seeing how this works out. As a person who believes that a huge amount of the investment in scholarship is wasted it will be interesting to see if a practitioner will lead to reform or will bow to the system.