Professor of Practice - Criminal Justice Clinic (Finance)

Department: Dean, Law

Salary: Commensurate with experience

Description:

The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) invites applications for a non-promotion-eligible, non-tenure track Professor of Practice position and Director of the Criminal Justice Clinic the "CJC Position." The goal is to have the CJC Position in place by mid-January 2025. The CJC Position will not include teaching during the summer 2025, but the attorney appointed to the position may have the option to teach additional clinic course(s) over the summer and receive additional payment. The position is a full-time, benefits-carrying position.

UH uses a fiscal year that begins on Sept 1. Thus, the initial appointment would be for 4.5 months to cover the spring of 2025. The expectation is that the initial appointment will be followed by a renewal appointment to extend the CJC Position for the fall 2025 semester. There is some possibility, based on funding, that the renewal appointment will be for the nine months covering the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters.

The UH Law Center currently has nine in-house clinics. Our Criminal Justice Clinic (CJC) has been in place since Fall 2017 with services delivered by adjunct instructors. CJC students have helped resolve numerous cases benefiting clients, ranging from murder cases to low-level misdemeanors. The CJC has resolved upwards of 100+ cases, felonies and misdemeanors to date. The CJC position enables the clinic to enhance its offerings with a full-time instructor.

Students in the Criminal Justice Clinic are assigned misdemeanor cases and are responsible for managing all legal aspects of the case from arraignment to fact investigation to trial. Students learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students are exposed to a wide range of cases such as assaults, thefts, driving while intoxicated and drug possession. Students have the opportunity to investigate crime scenes and interview witnesses.

Students will also provide "Know Your Rights" seminars to members of the community so that they are better informed when they encounter police or are charged with a crime.

In addition to the students' case work and "Know Your Rights" presentations, the clinic consists of a classroom component which meets for two hours a week for 14 weeks over the course of each semester. The classroom component focuses on case preparation, advocacy skills and ethical considerations. The practical component allows students to handle different aspects of real cases, including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements, and drafting and arguing motions to the judge. The clinic format is designed to allow students to explore the intersection of criminal laws and social issues while receiving one-on-one supervision.

The CJC Position will cover the classroom component of the clinical instruction and the case supervision component. The CJC Position will also work with the Assistant Dean of UHLC Clinical Programs to manage grants that fund the clinic's work.

As a non-tenure track position, the appointee will accrue no time toward tenure at the University of Houston.

This non-tenure track appointment may be renewed depending on funding.

Please reference and review the University of Houston's NTT Faculty Policy, available at this link: http://www.uh.edu/provost/faculty/current/non-tenure-track .

Also applicable are the UHLC bylaws provisions relating to the NTT position of Professor of Practice:
https://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/P-T-CEAsections--UHLC-BylawsApril2018_ver1c_4_6_2018.pdf

Further information about the Law Center and its programs is available at: http://www.law.uh.edu .

This search is coordinated by the Assistant Dean of UHLC Clinical Programs, Professor J. Anna Cabot, jacabot@central.uh.edu ; after submitting your application in the system of this posting, please send Prof. Cabot a courtesy email attaching a resume or curriculum vitae to that email.

An attorney appointed to the position must, at a minimum, hold a J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school.

Qualifications
J.D. degree or equivalent.

Required Attachments
Cover Letter, Curriculum Vitae

Official transcripts are required for a faculty appointment and will be requested upon selection of the final candidates. All positions at the University of Houston are security sensitive and will require a criminal background check.

The policy of the University of Houston-System and its universities is to ensure equal opportunity in all its educational programs and activities, and all terms and conditions of employment without regard to age, race, color, disability, religion, national origin, ethnicity, military status, genetic information, sex (including gender and pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or status, or gender expression, except where such a distinction is required by law.