Founded in 1900, AALS is a nonprofit association of 174 member and 20 fee-paid law schools. From its founding, AALS has worked to advance excellence in legal education. As part of that mission, AALS provides member schools with a wide range of programs, services, and resources designed to support institutional success, strengthen legal education, and foster collaboration across the legal academy.
Benefits for member schools include:
For the dean: Ongoing access to deans-only resources and discussion lists and participation in deans mentorship program. Monthly deans-only office hours with the CEO and representatives from allied organizations and deans-only email updates from the CEO. Annual participation in the AALS Deans Forum day-long program at the AALS Annual Meeting.
Faculty Recruitment Services (inclusive of participation in the Faculty Appointments Register and virtual Faculty Recruitment Conference, unlimited job postings in the Placement Bulletin and the Visiting and International Faculty Registers, and invitations to a webinar for faculty appointment committee members and in-person regional events for prospective law faculty).
Community participation and free membership inAALS Sections: Faculty and staff are invited to join and hold leadership positions in over 100 subject matter, special interest, and affinity sections that host year-round discussion lists and plan programs at the AALS Annual Meeting. Many sections also hold virtual or in-person events throughout the year, awards, mentorship programs, and works-in-progress sessions.
Professional development opportunities and resources: All faculty and staff at your school have access and opportunities to
Propose programs for and/or present at the Annual Meeting/Clinical Conference;
Webinars and virtual conferences throughout the year including teach-ins and an ongoing webinar series on AI in legal education co-organized with West Academic;
Leadership and service opportunities on event planning committees, standing committees, and working groups;
For newer faculty, access to the Resources for New Faculty hub, monthly webinars with personalized teaching advice from AALS consultants, virtual works-in-progress sessions throughout the year, and one-on-one mentorship programs;
For adjunct faculty and lecturers, an annual workshop and year-round resources;
Law Deans Clearinghouses on various topics including the rule of law, free speech, AI, and more.
Information sharing, journals, and news subscriptions: All faculty and staff at your school have access and/or are automatically subscribed to:
Our weekly email newsletter AALS LENS Now, summarizing the most important headlines in higher education, the legal profession, legal education, law school news, and more each week;
The Journal of Legal Education and its complete online archive, plus five physical copies of each issue sent to the dean’s office;
Inclusion in theAALS Rosenblatt’s Deans Database, tracking law school dean appointments and transitions, now hosted by AALS. The Database also includes historical information on deans, benchmarking, and institutional research for leadership and administrative planning.
