Our latest blind item has to do with the extracurricular activities of a prominent law professor….

Should these hands be allowed to touch the law student body?

Romances between law professors and law students: they happen. Speaking for myself, I think there’s nothing wrong with them, at least if the relationship is consensual, free from any claims of undue influence, quid pro quo, etc. Law students are adults, after all, and they should be allowed to make their own decisions in matters of the heart.

But some schools still have policies against them, depending on the circumstances. And even when a student-teacher relationship doesn’t violate university or law school policy, it can still raise eyebrows in some quarters — which leads us to today’s blind item.

A high-profile law professor, who has found himself embroiled in controversy in the past year, asked out one of his students — while she was still studying under him. At the time, she was in a long-distance relationship. But after that other relationship came to an end, the student and her teacher started dating. In fairly short order, they got engaged — and then married, before she even graduated from law school. The law student bride took her professor-husband’s last name, which she went by during 3L year.

Some folks in the law school community found this scandalous. But others took a more laissez-faire view: law professors date (or sleep with) their students all the time; it’s no big deal.

Readers, let’s get your thoughts. Should law professors be allowed to date law students? Should they be allowed to date students they are currently teaching (and grading), or should they be required to wait until the course is over? In general, what do you think should be the standard governing relationships between law professors and law students?

Earlier: Prior ATL blind items