Law School Deans, Law Schools, Musical Chairs

NYU Law Dean To Step Down At The End Of the School Year

NYU Law School Dean Richard Revesz will step down at the end of the academic year...

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UPDATE (6:20 PM): Revesz gave an interview to the WSJ Law Blog. Here are some highlights. On the future of the legal job market:

I don’t have a crystal ball, but I am a believer in cycles. I believe we will cycle out of this…. The vast majority of our students are doing very well. Obviously the number of jobs in the private sector has decreased in recent years. The market has contracted after 2008, and it’s affected every sector, including this sector.

On changes in legal academia:

I think there has been a progressive move away from — not an abandonment of — but a change in the mix away from traditional Socratic courses in large classes. There is much more emphasis on hands-on experience, in clinics. And there is much more focus on globalization.

On law school applications:

The number of applications is down. For first few years that it fell, it was basically correcting after the upswing at the beginning of the recession. Then there was some correction for that, since then there has been a further fall.

This year we had 6,405 applications…. At the height, in 2010 [when many students were presumably seeking refuge from the tough economy] we had 8,518 applications, the highest since 2003…. Even with this drop in applications, the class we enrolled in 2012 was statistically virtually identical to the classes we enrolled in 2010 and 2003, as measured by their mean GPA and LSAT scores.

You can read the full interview here.

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UPDATE (6:30 PM): John Sexton, NYU’s president (and a former NYU Law dean himself), issued a statement about Dean Revesz, his accomplishments, and the process to find his successor. We’ve pasted the statement below the announcement from Dean Revesz.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL — MEMORANDUM

To: School of Law Community

From: Dean Richard Revesz

Date: October 24, 2012

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Re: Transition

I am writing to let you know that I have decided to step down from my position as Dean of New York University School of Law at the end of the current academic year, on May 31, 2013. After more than 10 years in this position, I make this announcement with mixed emotions. Leading this amazing community has been an enormous privilege, an experience that has been rewarding beyond measure. I am deeply proud of all that we have accomplished together, and confident that the Law School will continue to flourish under new leadership.

When NYU President John Sexton passed the baton to me, he was undoubtedly the finest law school dean in recent history, having overseen an unprecedented rise in the quality of the school, a steep trajectory that was unique among law schools. It was a daunting challenge to follow in his footsteps, but I was inspired by what I knew the Law School could yet achieve. I believed then, and am even more certain today, that this is the most exciting and dynamic place in the world to teach and study law. I have now been on the faculty for half of my life—27 years—and the qualities that drew me here continue to animate this extraordinary institution: the School’s entrepreneurial, optimistic spirit that drives it to envision bold new approaches and to lead the way in addressing critical challenges; the commitment to inclusiveness that led it to admit women more than half a century before our peer schools and continues to inspire it to provide opportunities for those groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession; and the commitment to scholarship that is both rigorous and relevant, clinical education that is unparalleled in its breadth, depth, and impact, and an intellectual climate that is vibrant, open and respectful. We have built upon those core values over the past ten years, and I am endlessly grateful to the many people who throughout my deanship have served as trusted colleagues, helpful guides, and faithful champions. To give proper thanks to all those to whom I owe appreciation would not be practical today (though I hope to do it eventually), but let me highlight a few of the ways in which this group has worked together to make the Law School ever better.

During my tenure, we have increased the size of the full time faculty from 83 to 110, expanding the breadth and depth of its scholarly interests, and adding to its diversity. We now have the leading faculty groups in a wide range of legal areas, which enables us to offer our students an extraordinary variety of specialized courses, clinics, and opportunities for directed research and interdisciplinary learning and, most importantly, gives students a chance to work alongside faculty members as colleagues.

We have made many changes to provide our students with the very best curriculum, from the introduction of electives that allow for greater specialization and the Legislation and Regulatory State course in the 1L year, to the series of deals courses created by our Mitchell Jacobson Leadership Program in Law and Business and co-taught with the Stern School of Business. We have added significantly to the range of opportunities we provide our students to do professional work during law school, creating 19 new clinics and 12 new centers and institutes that enable faculty members, students, and professionals to work together on salient legal issues with important public policy implications. Just last week, we announced our new semester study abroad program in Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai for 3L students interested in global legal practice. We also developed a new “Legislative, Administrative, and Governmental Lawyering Clinic” in Washington D.C. for 3L students as part of a program of intensive study and practical training in the role of government—relevant to both private and public career paths.

Never content to rest on our laurels, we have solidified our commitment to public interest law by institutionalizing our funding for public interest summer jobs, significantly expanding our LRAP program and creating the Frank J. Guarini Leaders in Government Service Institute for students interested in government work, and doubling the size of our Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program to return it to its original strength. We have introduced a number of programs to increase the opportunities we provide students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and expanded the AnBryce Scholarship Program from one student per class to 10 per class.

To provide suitable homes for all these new endeavors, we completed Furman Hall and renovated Vanderbilt Hall. More recently, we opened 22 Washington Square North and Wilf Hall, and I’m very proud about the LEED Silver and Platinum certification of these two buildings. These additions, and our two residence halls—D’Agostino and Mercer—give us an incomparable campus in the heart of Greenwich Village.

All of these initiatives have required resources, and over the past 10 years we have raised a record-breaking $520 million, and more than doubled the size of our NYU Law Fund in order to secure the Law School’s success far into the future. Our loyal, dedicated, and generous donors have made it possible for us to compete effectively with institutions with a broader resource base.

None of this progress would have been possible but for my amazing colleagues on the faculty, who have been incredible partners throughout my deanship. They have been the architects of many of our most innovative programs, and their intellectual firepower fueled our aspirations. Similarly, none of this would have been possible without the tireless efforts of the extraordinarily talented and dedicated members of the Law School’s administration and staff. They have consistently gone the extra mile to get the job done better, to find the more creative solution, and to add a personal touch; they make the education we provide, the services we offer, and the environment we share the very best it can be. Our alumni not only contribute their time and talents as mentors to our students and participants in our intellectual life, but also are a constant source of new ideas, inspiration and leadership, and have been incredibly generous in providing the resources needed to improve the Law School. I am especially grateful to the members of the Law School’s Board of Trustees, who have supported me throughout my deanship, and have been vigilant stewards of the Law School’s resources, and visionary guardians of its future. And most crucial of all to the endeavor are our students, whose extraordinary talents, energy, and commitment make being part of the Law School community such a privilege, and also assure us that there will be leaders with the intelligence, initiative and integrity needed to address the challenges of the 21st century.

I have been graced by your friendship and support, and hope to personally thank all of the people who have left an indelible impression on the Law School, and on my own life. No one deserves more thanks than my wife, Vicki Been, and my children, Joshua and Sarah. I could never have done this without their patience and encouragement.

As for my next steps, almost two years ago, I was asked to spearhead a University initiative to create a new interdisciplinary institute on cities and the urban environment. I will continue those efforts and also look forward to being able to devote more time to teaching and scholarship at the Law School.

Of course, there is still much to do in the remaining months, and I will do everything I can to make the transition to new leadership as smooth as possible. I am exceedingly proud of what we have accomplished together over the past ten-and-a-half years, and very optimistic about all that lies ahead for NYU School of Law.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY — MEMORANDUM FROM PRESIDENT JOHN SEXTON

To: NYU Law School Community

From: NYU President John Sexton and NYU Provost David McLaughlin

Re: Law School Deanship

Date: October 24, 2012

Almost eleven years ago we were pleased to name Ricky Revesz as John’s successor as Dean of the School of Law. Now, Ricky has advised us of his intention to step down, effective May 31, 2013. The intervening years have seen remarkable progress, in no small part due to the dedication and talent Ricky brought to his assignment. We want to express our gratitude and that of the entire University community to him for his outstanding leadership.

It is difficult to capture fully the extraordinary accomplishments of Ricky’s tenure, a period of advancement that has seen the Law School strengthened across many significant dimensions. Among the most notable, he has:

  • recruited an astonishing 45 new full-time faculty members, including leading professors from Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale; increased the size of the faculty by more than 30%, building the faculty groups in many important academic areas to be the best in the nation; and, over the last five years, successfully retained every member of the full-time academic faculty who received offers from other schools;
  • introduced distinctive innovations in the Law School curriculum, including the new Jacobson Program in Law and Business, which strengthened the Law School’s ties to the Stern School of Business, and a major set of curricular enhancements, in particular for the third year, designed to ensure that NYU Law School graduates are equipped to compete in the twenty-first century legal marketplace;
  • built on the Law School’s historic commitment to public interest law, increased the number of clinics from 17 to 36, and expanded funding opportunities that enable many more students to pursue public interest work by doubling the size of the Root-Tilden-Kern Program, significantly redesigning and enhancing the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and guaranteeing summer funding to all first- and second-year students working in public service settings;
  • undertaken substantial measures to improve opportunities for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, increase the diversity of the legal profession, and improve the provision of legal services to disadvantaged communities by significantly expanding the AnBryce Scholarship Program and establishing the Bickel & Brewer Program;
  • launched 12 new centers to bring together faculty, students, and research staff to work on issues of pressing legal and public policy relevance, and developed Wilf Hall, a LEED Platinum building, and 22 Washington Square North, a LEED Silver building, to give them suitable homes.

Ricky built upon the Hauser Global Law School Program’s original model of bringing leading foreign faculty and students to New York by launching a second generation of initiatives that takes NYU Law School to the world. In addition to partnering with the National University of Singapore to establish an LL.M. program in Singapore, he recently launched new NYU Law-designed and managed study-abroad programs for third-year students in Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai.

Ricky also has proven to be a remarkable fundraiser, working tirelessly to secure the long-term success of the institution he loves so much. He has raised $520 million during his ten years at the helm of the Law School, and under his leadership, the NYU Law Fund has more than doubled. As a result of these efforts, he has enabled us to compete successfully with the top law schools in the country, which have a far broader base of resources.

He has done all of this while continuing to teach Environmental Law every year, designing and teaching a new clinical course on regulatory policy; publishing three books and nine major articles; serving as a strong mentor, and in some cases co-author, to students interested in pursuing academic careers, for whom he launched the Furman Academic Scholarship Program; and building a strong relationship with the student body by interacting with groups of students regularly in formal and informal settings.

Ricky also has been an exceptional institutional citizen of the University, chairing the University IT Task Force, serving on dean search committees, and most recently, leading one of the University’s new signature initiatives to create an interdisciplinary institute on cities and the urban environment, an effort that he will continue to move forward. The new institute, which will bring together the socials sciences, natural sciences, and humanities as well as the professional schools, represents an ambitious venture that will transform the way NYU approaches research and teaching concerning cities. Ricky has worked on the development of this institute for almost two years, and is committed to building a robust and rigorous program to influence and inform international research and policy debates on the future of the urban environment. Ricky, as Lawrence King Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, will remain a tenured member of the Law School’s faculty and will continue to teach, and to serve as faculty director of the Law School’s Institute for Policy Integrity.

We are committed to a smooth transition to new leadership at the Law School. The University will follow the same search process used in the last two dean searches, in 1987 and 2001. The 10-person search committee will include five members of the Law School faculty, who will be elected by the faculty through the same voting protocol used in the last two search processes. (Faculty members will receive a memo shortly explaining those voting procedures in more detail.) We will appoint one of the elected faculty members as the chair. For the remaining five positions, we will select one dean from another school at NYU; the Chair of the Law School Foundation Board of Trustees, Anthony Welters, will select two trustees; the two faculty Vice Deans will select one Law School administrator; and the President of the Student Bar Association will serve as the elected representative of the student body. The Committee will be tasked with recommending to us a diverse group of three to five unranked candidates, including at least two individuals who are not currently members of the NYU Law School faculty, and to give us an assessment of their qualities. We will meet with the committee as soon as it is formed to discuss its charge.

We know that you will join us in extending deep gratitude to Ricky for a job extraordinarily well done.

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