Section IV.A: Appointment Policy and Procedure - Law School

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

The objectives of Lewis & Clark Law School can be achieved only by the enlistment and retention of a distinguished faculty. Prospective faculty members should be, or should show promise of becoming, effective teachers, sound and creative scholars, and dedicated participants in the varied activities of legal education and the legal profession. A faculty member should possess a high degree of personal and intellectual integrity, and he or she should be dedicated to the search for truth in a climate of intellectual independence. It is expected that those who receive academic appointment shall have concern for both the intellectual and ethical growth of students.

II. INITIAL APPOINTMENT OR APPLICATION FOR TENURE

1. Appointment to a tenure-track faculty position requires a competitive search and an 80-percent vote of the voting faculty, and student representatives to the faculty, present and voting either in person or by electronic means at a regularly scheduled or duly noticed special meeting of the faculty [hereinafter “the 80% hiring rule”]; approval of the dean of the law school (the “dean”); and approval of the president of Lewis & Clark College (the “president”). Candidates for tenure-track faculty positions must have completed their professional or academic training as evidenced by a juris doctor or equivalent degree in law, or a doctorate in a related academic discipline. Ordinarily, candidates for appointment to the rank of assistant professor will be expected to have a record of successful teaching or practice in addition to their academic qualifications. Candidates for appointment to the rank of associate professor should have a record of substantial success as a teacher, scholar, practitioner, or judge. Ordinarily, candidates for appointment to the rank of professor must have demonstrated outstanding success as a teacher and as a scholar.
2. Clinical and Lawyering faculty who have received indefinite contracts as of December 31, 2024, may apply for tenure as specified in Section IV.B. Clinical faculty, Lawyering faculty, and the Library Director, who were hired before December 31, 2024, who have not yet received indefinite contracts may indicate if they wish to be considered for tenure, rather than indefinite contracts. If they opt into the tenure process, they will be subject to the promotion and tenure procedures set forth in Section IV.B. Faculty hired after December 31, 2024 may be hired as tenure-track faculty or through the indefinite contract procedures spelled out in Section IV.C, unless they are hired as instructors, visitors, lecturers, professors of practice, professors with terms, or adjuncts, as specified in part II.C immediately following.
3. The dean has the authority to appoint persons to the rank of instructor, visitor, lecturer, professor of practice, professor with term, or adjunct. Such appointment does not require compliance with the 80% hiring rule. Any individual holding an appointment as instructor, visitor, lecturer, professor of practice, professor with term, or adjunct is not eligible for appointment to tenure, tenure-track, indefinite contract, or indefinite-contract track unless they are hired through the appointments process spelled out in Section II.A (related to tenure track and tenure appointments) or Section IV.C (related to indefinite contracts).
   
   Candidates for appointment to the rank of instructor, visitor, lecturer, professor of practice, professor with term, or adjunct should have completed their professional training as evidenced by the juris doctor or equivalent degree in law, or a doctorate in a related academic discipline, and should demonstrate the promise of success in teaching and research. Appointment to the rank of adjunct professor requires a record of substantial success or promise as a practitioner, judge, or scholar.
   
   The dean may also award the title of professor emerita or emeritus to retiring faculty members of distinction. In such cases, the designation of a retiring faculty member as professor emeritus requires the approval of the dean, the president, and the Board of Trustees of Lewis & Clark College.

III. FACULTY CONTRACTS

The terms and conditions of every appointment shall be subject to the policies and procedures of Lewis & Clark Law School and any specific terms stated in an initial letter of appointment or thereafter in an annual contract or salary agreement between Lewis & Clark College, Lewis & Clark Law School, and the faculty member. Tenure-track appointments stated to be “without tenure” shall continue into the succeeding academic year unless:

1. the faculty member is notified in writing, prior to December 1, that his or her appointment will terminate at the end of the current academic year;
2. the faculty member has been previously notified in writing that his or her appointment will terminate at the end of the current academic year; or
3. the faculty member is terminated in accordance with Section II.M (Termination and Nonrenewal of Faculty Appointments).

Appointments “with tenure” or “tenure in position” may only be terminated in accordance with Section II.M (Termination and Nonrenewal of Faculty Appointments) with the additional considerations set forth in the tenure document of the Law School.

Non-tenure-track appointments shall only continue into a succeeding academic year if the faculty member is so notified by the dean.

Back to Section IV home