New law school hires standouts

Ex-Duke scholar's lineup wins praise

After liberal constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky was hired, fired and then rehired as dean of the fledgling University of California, Irvine, law school last year, some said the politically charged controversy meant Orange County had missed its shot at a nationally renowned law school.

At the time, university officials acknowledged that the hiring debacle, which erupted into a battle over academic freedom, could put such a blemish on the institution that it would be difficult to assemble a top-tier team of legal scholars.

But this month, Chemerinsky officially started as dean and proved many of those dire predictions wrong, announcing an 18-member "dream team" of founding faculty and administrators that observers in legal and higher education circles praised as an impressive lineup. The first class of 60 students is scheduled to start in fall 2009.

Chemerinsky, who left his post at Duke University to head the UC-Irvine law school, is considered one of the nation's foremost experts on constitutional law, though his left-leaning positions have drawn fire from conservatives.

The list of founding faculty was seen as an important milestone after UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake's decision in September to abruptly fire Chemerinsky as founding dean, only to offer him the job again five days later after a national outcry. Chemerinsky contended that Drake bowed to pressure from conservatives and sacked him because of his outspoken liberal positions. Drake later admitted he "bungled" the appointment but denied outside influence.

'High-profile people'

The assortment of professors brought on staff has dispelled concerns that Chemerinsky's hiring fracas would undermine the school's ability to recruit top faculty and do so quickly, said Robert Pushaw, a politically conservative constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University.

"It's very difficult to persuade top law professors to leave their schools to join an upstart operation, but he's hired some very high-profile people," Pushaw said. "I'm guessing there won't be a whole lot of McCain bumper stickers in the parking lot there, but that's true of academia in general."

The incoming professors include specialists in intellectual property, labor, clinical education, civil rights and dispute resolution. Among the well-known names are civil rights and education expert Rachel Moran from University of California, Berkeley, who is the incoming president of the Association of American Law Schools; Dan Burk, a cyber law and biotechnology expert from the University of Minnesota; and Chemerinsky's wife, Catherine Fisk, a noted Duke University labor law professor.

Chemerinsky said he sought a faculty with diverse political views but, more importantly, professors who were at the top of their field.

"It's always been my goal that our law school will have no ideology. I don't want to make a liberal law school or a conservative law school," he said. "To the extent that conservatives had doubts about me, all I want is for them to give me a chance."