What’s Going on at Emory Law School? Dean Partlett Explains
In response to yesterday’s post about recent events in Emory Law School’s career services office (which has generated an insane number of comments), we received an email from Dean David Partlett. We thank Dean Partlett for his message. Here it is:
Dear David,I write regarding questions surrounding Laurie Hartman’s resignation from Emory School of Law a few weeks ago. Given the level of discussion surrounding this topic, I feel a little clarification is necessary.
Laurie Hartman served as Assistant Dean of Career Services at Emory for three years. During that time, the law school underwent an extensive external review of the office and received high marks for the strength of the services provided by the office. Dean Hartman, after serving for three years, decided to resign from her position to pursue other career opportunities. Her resignation was amicable. As you know, there is never a good time for a staff member in an office as important as Career Services to leave. Given the critical nature of services provided by this office, the administration of the law school moved quickly to address the vacancy.
Read the balance of Dean Partlett’s message, after the jump.
EMAIL MESSAGE FROM DEAN DAVID F. PARTLETT (EMORY LAW SCHOOL)
(continued from before the jump)
The following steps were taken:
* Within two days of the announcement that Dean Hartman was
leaving Emory, each of the students she was counseling was reassigned to
another career counselor and notified whom their new counselor would be.
* Emory placed the office under the direction of Senior Director
Michelle Stevens, who took on the role of assistant dean in an interim
capacity to lead day-to-day operations of the office.
* Emory immediately began the search for a replacement for Dean
Hartman and has hired Janet Hutchinson, who formerly worked at Emory as
senior director of career services, to return to Emory and lead the
office as assistant dean. In addition, we hired an additional full-time
staff member with career services experience from Tulane Law School to
work in the office to assist during the transition. All of the vacancies
within the office have been filled and we have added one full-time
employee to meet the needs of our students.
* An announcement was sent to students from Dean Hartman (at her
request) wishing our students the best of luck and providing them with
her email address should they wish to contact her directly.
We are extremely pleased that Janet Hutchinson has agreed to return to
Emory to lead this critical office for us. We are confident that her
experience in this area combined with having worked with our students
before will allow her to immediately provide strong leadership in this
area when she begins her position in early December.
Career Services continues to be one of my main priorities as Dean of
Emory Law, and we will continue to work hard to make improvements to
this office moving forward. We are saddened that the resignation of one
of our employees has become fodder for gossip and attacks on members of
our community via the Internet.
On a personal note, I would like to thank our alumni and students for
their concern and well wishes. Emory remains one of the top law schools
in the country because of the important work they do every day. I ask
that they continue to support Emory, so that the good work our students
and graduates are doing in the world will not be overshadowed.
Sincerely,
David F. Partlett
Dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law
Earlier: What’s Going on at Emory Law School?
(146) 
Comments
First!
First!
first
first
You idiots who post "first" are an ugly blemish on the handsome face of this weblog. I would still grope this weblog, however.
First!
I've heard, from more than one person, that Emory's job placement is essentially tier 2 (top 10% get good jobs and everyone else is screwed.)
I don't know if it's true, but students expect more from a supposedly top 20 law school.
It's an interesting coincidence that a career services person, from a school with such a reputation, is involved in controversy.
Starting salaries for students going into the private sector, as reported by US News:
Emory - (25th-75th percentile): $65,000 - $110,000
GW (a similarly ranked school) - (25th-75th percentile): $100,000 - $125,000
BU (a similarly ranked school) - (25th-75th percentile): $110,000 - $125,000
Emory does seem to lag its competitors.
job placement is not great, but its more like top 1/3 get jobs and the rest need mommy and daddy's connections to get them a job
job placement is not great, but its more like top 1/3 get jobs and the rest need mommy and daddy's connections to get them a job
That seems an entirely predictable and wholly inadequate response to the questions she cared so much to answer.
It only generated an insane number of posts because there are double and triple repeat posts. People, you only need to press "Post" once... the site is just slow... your rants will be posted.
It only generated an insane number of posts because there are double and triple repeat posts. People, you only need to press "Post" once... the site is just slow... your rants will be posted.
I do not have a dog in this fight, but I really have to question what kind of a person takes the time to look up the starting salaries of a school and then post them for the sole purpose showing that one school is better or worse than another.
What is up with that? Do you really not have anything better to do? Did you get a boner by doing that? Did it occur to you that perhaps the cost of living in Georgia is less than D.C. or Boston and therefore attorneys tend to make less?
And by the way, I question those statistic from all three schools. They are to high for starting salaries.
oops sorry i guess the site is just really screwy.
11:51 - - - You can't compare those schools. Students tend to stay closer to their alma mater's upon graduation than travel. DC and Boston markets pay significantly more than Atlanta.
11:51, Given that let's say (just shooting from the hip here) almost half of Emory students stay in Atlanta for work, where the cost of living is considerably cheaper than DC (GW) or Boston (BU), that salary difference could definitely be accounted for in good part by cost of living. A 3 bedroom costs half in Atlanta what it does in DC or Boston.
Anonymous 12:02: Why, yes. I do get a boner by doing that. Cheaper than Viagra, baby!!
@11:51
Southern salaries are generally less than those in the northern areas. A lot of Emory students stay to the south and this is reflected in the salaries. For instance, very few, maybe 2 or 3 firms, pay 160k in FL.
How did Emory get to be a top 20 law school in the first place!? Shows how arbitrary US News and World Report is. Joke.
How did Emory get to be a top 20 law school in the first place!? Shows how arbitrary US News and World Report is. Joke.
I really have to question what kind of a person takes the time to look up the starting salaries of a school and then post them for the sole purpose showing that one school is better or worse than another.
What is up with that?
Yes--what is up with that? What is the dealio my legal homies? You truly have me straight bugging, especially since I do NOT have a dog in this fight!
Finally! The Dean makes the right points and sets the proper tone. It was also submitted properly (i.e. directly to Lat).
That said, let's all remember that career services, beyond facilitating OCI, can only provide tools and resources for the job hunt. The rest is up to the students. For those experiencing challenges in that endeavor, please exercise good judgment when expressing your grievances.
BU and GW are in metropolitan areas with much higher costs of living...so yea, it's a good idea to compare that with Emory, where grads typically CHOOSE to stay in Atlanta. Although I decided to go to NYC (where I make more than my ATL counterparts), a lot of my friends either stayed in ATL or even moved back because ATL allows one to live a nice comfortable life with great BigLaw hours. I get annoying messages from friends who whine about leaving their job "late" sometimes (that being 7 or 8 p.m. and yet they make only $30K less than I do), but live in a ridiculous house while I live in a studio...
So you can say that Emory has poor job placement out of the SE, but the fact is, it's not because employers don't know or don't respect Emory, it's because alumni don't want to move elsewhere.
And lastly, those trolls who claim that Emory "sucks" must be the biggest losers since I don't know any attractive, cool, smart men who post anonymous entries on websites about how others are inferior to them.
Blown controversy = Emory to Tier 2!
What do career services directors actually do, anyway, that gives students an advantage they would not have with a lesser career services director? They seem pretty fungible to me unless they're absolutely god-awful or super-spectacular.
What a canned and totally unsophisticated response. Heaps further embarrassment upon my school. I weep.
This story, to me, is more about the incompetence of Dean Brokaw.
No one could possibly respect her or like her given her obnoxious behavior.
She is a fool.
Does anyone know if the cost of living is less in Atlanta than in Boston or DC? I was just thinkin that maybe starting salaries are less in Atlanta generally and that maybe students tend to stay closer to the law schools they graduate from. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
It's suprising that I would be the first to come up with this.
PARTLETT'S LETTER is a nice, NON-INFORMATIVE response.
Although I agree that this is a private matter, Katherine Brokaw sounds like a horrible administrator who has lost touch with her community.
FIRE BROKAW!!!!
Where is Emory located? I have never even heard of this law school before.
"Where is Emory located? I have never even heard of this law school before."
I think it used to be called Cooley or Touro or something.
I'm only interested in one person's reaction to this letter. What say you, Evan Cline?
12:19, Perhaps those who posted about it did so at approximately the same time, and thus didn't see that others had already responded? No, you're right...much more likely that everyone read each response and then decided to write the same exact thing. What would this world be without some asshole trying to bring others down to his pathetic zone of loneliness? That's rhetorical, douche.
Emory would probably delay its inevitable fall to T2 by offering an online JD.
12:03,
Ha ha!
I agree. Dean Brokaw is a horrible administrator. She would rather hide under a rock than address student concerns.
It "ashames" me that some students insist on keeping their school in the (bad) spotlight.
Ok fine, but is he going to explain Brokaw's communist tactics?
Partlett was dean at Washington & Lee before he went to Emory (and we were unlucky enough to get him from Vanderbuilt). He was the worst thing to ever happen to the law school, so good luck to you Emory...
12:34 - You are 100% correct - he was a disaster at W&L.
I agree, I think students deserve more of an explanation of the Brokoaw fiasco than the Hartman one.
Partlett is great. His comments during his torts classes at Vanderbilt always got a lot of laughs (e.g., "What if I took my Big Bertha and pounded you into the ground".) He liked naming "doctrines" after students in response to their answers to his questions. I'm sure he's a scratch golfer.
Why is all the scorn being heaped upon the school, Brokaw and Partlett? Sure, it's unfortunate that the school allowed the staffing changes to occur in career services during recruiting season. Yes, Brokaw's (alleged) approach was a little odd. But there's no reason to pounce on Partlett - he handled the career services staffing issue as effectively as possible and his letter was just fine (if perhaps a bit delayed).
This became an Above the Law story because (1) a student launched an online inquisition regarding the situation in career services and (2) some moron brought the issue to the attention of Above the Law. But for the poor judgment of a few students, this would not have become a national legal gossip story.
The title of this threat should be "What's Going on at Abovethelaw.com?" because today's entries have sucked big time.
Toss us some unsubstantiated salary talk or something . . . anything . . . come on!
Sure cost of living is lower ... but isn't Atlanta a $145k market? Aren't markets like Birmingham, Jackson, Miami, Columbia, etc. all something like $110k or more?
While cost of living would be a valid concern if the salary range reflected market rate for jobs in the South, the numbers (if true and relatively current) represent that the 75th percentile makes $35k less than the *Atlanta* market.
Lat,
As an embarassed emory student, I kindly ask that you post a series of NY law-firm bonus matches so that we can get this trivial story off of the front page.
I second 12:55's request.
Third...
I think Lat should setup a weekly strand on what is going on at Emory.
This further ashames me. It brings so much undeserved disgracement to Emory. Their is no better law school, imofyi.
I've HAD IT with all these MOUTHERFUCKING YEEHAWS hunting all these MOUTHERFUCKING UNICORNS to survive!
Best.Post.Ever.
RE: 3L at 12:52
ROFL at Brokaw's alleged actions, if true, being referred to as "a little odd."
Let's be real now.
Brokaw is incompetent
Let's see, I could pay $59,988 a year (cost of attendance) to come out making $65,000. Sounds like a great deal.
Yes, it was "odd" for her to ask if the student possessed a recording device. How else would you describe it? "Intimidating" or "confrontational"? Perhaps, but come on, the student is a 3L - he is but months away from being able to represent people in their legal affairs (i.e. if he gets a job).
From the Emory website:
"A quality legal education -- featuring top teachers, small classes, and innovative programs -- is expensive. At Emory, as at other private law schools, endowment income covers only part of the costs. Your tuition pays the rest."
Just don't expect a return on your investment.
1:07: Let's play SAT analogies - "disgracement" : real word :: Emory : good law school
nj bar exam results are out on their web page
Atlanta Bonus to foot-long chili cheese dog with your choice of fries or tots!!!!!!1!!1!
its funny you try to explain your piss poor salaries based on the rationale that "a lot of Emory students choose to stay in the SE" and then point to BU and GW.
If that's so (and there's probably some truth), then the same should apply to Vandy, which stomps on Emory in starting salaries - just like GW and BU.
Everyone knows the USNEWS employment stats are bogus. Only a tiny fraction of grads report their status/salary. Like 15-30%. Maybe. Guess what the people who don't report their salaries are doing? Oh wait, they don't have jobs! Go to deloggio.com - and scroll down the recent news page for more on this.
Those salary stats are awful....for any market not named "Iowa"
Sure cost of living is lower ... but isn't Atlanta a $145k market? Aren't markets like Birmingham, Jackson, Miami, Columbia, etc. all something like $95k or more?
While cost of living would be a valid concern if the salary range reflected market rate for jobs in the South, the numbers (if true and relatively current) represent that the 75th percentile makes $35k less than the *Atlanta* market.
Hey 1:28: I'm going to a firm that pays its first-years $205k/year. I'll make nearly $300k as a fourth-year. In the unlikely event that I make partner, I'll millions a year; if or when I leave that firm, I hope to have a lot of options. Best of all, it paid me $3,100/week to go to lavish lunches nearly every day all summer.
Just what sort of "return" were you expecting on your "investment"?
EMORY LAW RULES!
Sure cost of living is lower ... but isn't Atlanta a $145k market? Aren't markets like Birmingham, Jackson, Miami, Columbia, etc. all something like $95k or more?
While cost of living would be a valid concern if the salary range reflected market rate for jobs in the South, the numbers (if true and relatively current) represent that the 75th percentile makes $35k less than the *Atlanta* market.
First!
NY to 190!
Commet clusterfu*k
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
I went to Emory and I loved it. This is being blown out of proportion.
ELS3L,
Need a fire extinguisher for those pants? $205k a year? Even if you cheated and counted the bonus, you are still not getting more than $195k, and that's assuming you are at a $160k+$35k bonus firm.
Further, you are not going to most of that bonus the first year - you'll be prorated down to about $11k, so what you are really making, assuming you are in a top-paying firm, is $171k.
Now go stand in a corner.
Emory is huge on public interest
Hey 1:32, check out the comments on the other Emory post by Evan Cline (Emory SBA Pres) and get a clue. 1:07 isn't a serious post, you douche. Try knowing what's going on before you embarrass yourself.
I have lost all respect for Emory law given the responses by its current students.
MAY THIS DAY GO DOWN AS THE SHITTIEST DAY OF POSTS ON ABOVETHELAW.COM IN THE HISTORY OF TEH INTERNETS.
EMORY LAW RULES!
All caps is a way of life.
UGA to replace Emory in USNWR as top Georgia law school!
I hear there's rumors on the internets that Emory is having some career placement problems. I found it using the google.
too all those thinking Emory should drop, it's apparently UNDERRATED according to vault.
http://www.vault.com/lawschool/underrated/
Easy there, 2:00. Not everyone takes the time to read 300 comments to a post about a middling law school.
1) 1:10 - yes.best.post.ever - my officemate thinks I lost my mind
2) 1:55(2) - least.informed.post.ever - $160 +$35 + $10 (special bonus moron) = $205. - This might be why Emory Law grads make garbage...not the other silly excuses offered above.
I hear law firms in Cambodia are paying $10k a year plus $2k bonus, which relative to cost of living blows even Atlanta away.
EMORY 4 LIFE...BEST SCHOOL IN ATLANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EMORY 4 LIFE...BEST SCHOOL IN ATLANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EMORY 4 LIFE...BEST SCHOOL IN ATLANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Emory is awesome. Career services is pretty useless however.
The Dean is mincing his words. Notice how he never said WHY she was leaving? He only said she "decided to resign from her position...and her resignation was amicable."
It sounds like something happened that the school would not like to admit, and so they came up with this PR letter to skirt around the facts, only to save their own ass.
What a crafty little Lawyer-Dean he is.
Now if only the Dean had said this when students were simply asking him in private.
This letter doesn't directly address anything. Does it piss anyone else off that he completely ignored Brokaw? Her actions weren't a "bit odd" - they were offensive and completely inappropriate.
Wow, this thread brought out the Emory students.
Just like the undergrad, the law school is full of wannabes who think they are prestigious and want to go to a prestigious school, but who werent smart enough to get into one.
Its not even top 20, and it doesnt even place that well in Atlanta!
95 comments so far. Only 5 more until 100, aka an Official Comment Clusterf@#k. Come on, people, LET'S DO THIS!
That's what happens when you dont get your first choice for a Dean.
"UGA to replace Emory in USNWR as top Georgia law school!"
What's UGA?
Proof that Freer should have been Dean
Official Comment Clusterf@#k!
2:58, yes I agree, the letter skirts around the thigns that have apparently happened there the last few days. That's why when the Dean was asked YESTERDAY to respond to what happened, it took him a day or so to write up a letter, probably because he had to make sure he wasn't saying anything patently false while still obfuscating the facts.
This is just my hunch, and I'm basing it on the fact that when a career counselor at my own law school lied to U.S. News and World Report, the administration quietly let her go and played PR damage control.
Really makes me sick when administrators in a field where truth is supposedly a guiding light nonetheless do whatever they can to confuse in order to protect themselves and their reputation.
3:03(1). Right on.
2:58, yes I agree, the letter skirts around the thigns that have apparently happened there the last few days. That's why when the Dean was asked YESTERDAY to respond to what happened, it took him a day or so to write up a letter, probably because he had to make sure he wasn't saying anything patently false while still obfuscating the facts.
This is just my hunch, and I'm basing it on the fact that when a career counselor at my own law school lied to U.S. News and World Report, the administration quietly let her go and played PR damage control.
Really makes me sick when administrators in a field where truth is supposedly a guiding light nonetheless do whatever they can to confuse in order to protect themselves and their reputation.
3:03(1). Right on.
Freer to Dean!
2:58, yes I agree, the letter skirts around the thigns that have apparently happened there the last few days. That's why when the Dean was asked YESTERDAY to respond to what happened, it took him a day or so to write up a letter, probably because he had to make sure he wasn't saying anything patently false while still obfuscating the facts.
This is just my hunch, and I'm basing it on the fact that when a career counselor at my own law school lied to U.S. News and World Report, the administration quietly let her go and played PR damage control.
Really makes me sick when administrators in a field where truth is supposedly a guiding light nonetheless do whatever they can to confuse in order to protect themselves and their reputation.
1:53 is Bashman.
I think he didn't address Brokaw because he knows how f-ed up what she did was. They want to keep that as quiet as possible. Don't blame them.
3:13 (1): Is Freer the funny guy who teaches Bar/Bri Civ Pro and Corporations? I didn't even go to Emory but I would second him for Dean of any school. He's a riot!!!! He was one of two or three Bar/Bri lecturers this summer that was worthwhile.
Emory and me. BFF.
ROTFLMAO,
You are moron. 1st years don't get the special bonus. With that attention span, you will not be getting any bonus, vacation, salary or electricity in your office. Tool.
Wait a minute, so she didn't leave to be the dean of the UC Irvine School of law?
Wait a minute, so she didn't leave to be the dean of the UC Irvine School of law?
3:52, stub-years don't get a special bonus. First years do.
3:37 -- That's him.
Dean Brokaw to crack house!
Dean Brokaw's idiocy has collectively generated 410 comments!! I heard she threatened to curb Lat.
Dean Brokaw's idiocy has collectively generated 410 comments!! I heard she threatened to curb Lat.
Dean Brokaw's idiocy has collectively generated 410 comments!! I heard she threatened to curb Lat.
Dean Brokaw's idiocy has collectively generated 410 comments!! I heard she threatened to curb Lat.
Dean Brokaw's idiocy has collectively generated 410 comments!! I heard she threatened to curb Lat.
Is this really news worthy? So someone quit. big f'ing deal.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
I have many fond memories of my time at Wake Forest.
Emory to 190!
"Is this really news worthy? So someone quit. big f'ing deal."
Since when is ATL "news?" This place is a gossipmill for bored lawyers and law students. Is this "gossip?" Yes. Is it good gossip? Nope.
Mrs. Lovejoy, welcome to the 21st century.
This site is read by recruiting coordinators, partner-members of associate compensation committees, and thousands of lawyers, be they associate, counsel or partner. In other words, your future interviewers, colleagues, bosses and clients.
Ga State rulz, Emory drools
Wake Forest Demon DEACONS!
Dear Emory,
Your school is a toilet. Your staff, students, and faculty are all shit. You should be ashamed of yourself.
5:31, still, I'd hardly call it news. News is the information citizens need to keep their freedoms.
ATL is an entertaining rumormill that recruiting coordinators, partner-members of associate compensation committees, and thousands of lawyers, be they associate, counsel or partner. In other words, your future interviewers, colleagues, bosses and clients read. And I hope to god they read it with a sack of salt.
7:07, Grow up.
Who cares what's going on in career services. The girls at Emory are smoking hot. At least by law school standards.
8:04, you are an idiot.
8:12, you must not go to Emory. It's true, they actually are.
I can't believe this is getting so much attention and inciting to many posts. I hope everyone realizes that this could have happened at any law school and people would post the exact same mean things about that school. Except the 8:04 post about hot girls. Everyone knows Columbia Law girls are fucking busted.
I'm only twenty-five and constantly see how patently juvenile, trashy and obnoxious this site and the commenters can be. Why would a fifty year-old partner, much less a senior associate working his or her a** off, spend time reading this garbage? Partners in biglaw on the management or associate or compensation committees don't read this crap; the marketing/PR dep't of the firm does it and reports back. You guys are idiots. 5:31 is an idiot, specifically.
It "ashames" me.
9:28,
Why would they read this site?
Because it is hilarious.
Are there graduates of a school that are more insecure than those from Emory? I've met more than 1 Emory student who has referred to it as the "Harvard of the South".
In all fairness, it's a decent but irrelevant school.
Why would someone who calls their school the "Harvard of the South" be insecure? Wouldn't that make them cocky? Or perhaps delusional (if it were grossly untrue)?
What the fuck is wrong with you people? I swear to god the dumbest fucking law students and lawyers in the US must frequent the comment section.
Partners and important people in law firms may read this site, but its probably to keep tabs on other firms and to read the humorous offbeat news stories. I don't believe for a second anybody important in any firm reads the complete and utter mindless garbage posted in these comment sections.
9:28, less than 2 months ago, I had a big-time partner at a V5 show me an ATL story on his blackberry he was worried about and deciding whether the firm should respond.
2:29, Yeah, I'm guessing it was a front page story about his firm specifically. Not some obnoxious comment. Jesus, you people are dumb.
Partlett is one of my professors, so unlike most of you, I actually know him. He's great. He works very very hard, and does an excellent job at being approachable and showing he GENUINELY cares- i know, that's a concept lost on most of the commentors here, but look it up. He's brilliant, and obviously must know how to do something- believe it or not, it really does take some intelligence to end up Emory's dean. So, thank y'all so much for showing that the only reason for the hostility is because y'all are too busy wasting time blogging about things that aren't your business than working hard so that you could get in to Emory.
This is pure, unadulterated comedy. I vote that we make "What's Going on at Emory Law School?" a permanent feature at Abovethelaw. Show of hands?
9:30, what part of 1Ls should be seen but never heard do you not understand?
Can I get a show of hands on that???
"Dean Partlett's student" above must be the student he decided to pay "special attention to" at Emory. $50 says that the poster is a girl.
He may be a decent prof. He sucks at being a Dean. If you are his current student, that means that you are a 1L in his torts class. Just wait until you had him as your Dean for 3 years (like I did...which means I got into a better school than Emory). Then you will understand why not one single W&L alum or Vandy alum was disappointed to see him leave their schools.
Just wait until he starts creating legal "Centers" for the study of arcane crap...then you will understand why he leaves a trail of pissed off people everywhere he goes.
EMORY LAW RULES!
I ditto everyone else who said that Partlett sucks as a Dean. He seems like a nice man and I believe that he might be a good professor, but he didn't do anything to contribute to W&L Law -- although he was around right before it lost its t20 ranking.
When is Emory planning on opening a law school? Sounds like a bad idea to me.
Don't believe a word Partlett says. He was a blight on W&L (driving away great professors and driving down the rankings), and he exists in a world very far from the truth.