Words cannot express how happy I was when I got my double-subscription platinum edition copy of The National Jurist this morning and saw that they've named their "25 Most Influential People in Legal Education."
Some of you might say, "uh, the American taxpayer? whoever is in charge of the loan system?" But you would be oh so wrong, just as anyone who said "dybbuk" or "nando" or "lawlemmings" or any other traitor. Guys, face it: you're not nearly as important as some 4th-tier professors I've never heard of despite monitoring legal education news for the entirety of last year.
National Jurist broke the candidates into four categories: Innovators, Controversial, Intellectuals, and (shiver me timbers!) Loathed.
Bill Henderson is 1st. Our hero, Brian Leiter, comes in 3rd and they list him as intellectual, controversial, and loathed. What an ubermensch. Villains Tamanaha and Kyle McEntee (who is NOT EVEN A LAW PROFESSOR) are 7th and 8th, respectively.
The editors clearly wanted to send a message by putting whiz kid mathematician Michael Simkovic at 16 while slipping scoundrel muckrucker Paul Campos at 17. The jab is clear: math beats empty douche-ridden sophistry. Million-dollar law degrees, people.
I'll be the first to admit I did not actually read the article (beyond noting certain omissions, of course), but it appears the "loathed" teaser was just for Leiter and Campos. If anyone actually reads it and discovers otherwise, let me know.
I'm off to consult books on statutory interpretation to figure out the difference between "controversial" and "loathed" in this context. May also cruise in my Bentley and fornicate with a stewardess. See those unicorns out the window? God, reality is fun. Have I mentioned that I convinced at least 30 people to go to law school last year? I should really be more public with my statistics so magazines like this can give recognition where it's due. Not that I'm bitter or anything; I'll just think of myself as the 26th most influential person. It's like the 5th Beatle debate, only with more sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.
1. (Tie) (Alphabetical) Campos, dybbuk, Nando.
ReplyDelete4, (Tie) NYT, WSJ
6. (Tie). Carron, Merritt,
8 (Tie). LawLemmings, LSTC, the guy who does the amateurishly illustrated analysis who's name I can't recall but whom I greatly respect
11. (TIe) Other worthy souls sounding the scam alarm, both present and past, whom I also can't always recall (e.g., Tom the Temp, DupedNonTraditional, and more)
Matt Leichter is the one I was trying to recall in 8 above.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Bill, Paul, Brian(T), Kyle, Paul.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course congrats to our own honorable unmentioned at #26. Kudos all around.