Nancy Levit (UMKC) was one of the plenary speakers at the AALS Workshop on “Women Rethinking Equality” last month. During the panel on scholarship, she had some great comments that might be interesting for readers of this blog. Under Nancy’s original headings, I’ve pulled out a few highlights:
1. Know the rules. “Review your law school’s promotion and tenure guidelines. *** There may be some the unwritten requirements as well.”
2. Size matters. “Do not begin by writing op-eds and do not begin with a book.”
3. Topic selection. “Is intellectual promiscuity really a bad thing? *** The political reality is that, at least initially, your school’s promotion and tenure standard may dictate whether you can indulge in more eclectic intellectual pursuits.”
4. Build the interdisciplinary foundation for your work. “Shelf-read at a general university library or a specialized science library.”
5. Make friends with your librarians. “Tap the wonderful resource of reference librarians.”
6. Seek feedback. “Asking colleagues at your home law school or mentors from other schools to review a draft of your article is a good idea.”
A copy of Nancy Levit’s full remarks are reprinted, with her permission, after the jump.
-Bridget Crawford
