Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Academics in Love

Posted on April 15, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

PrawfsBlawg takes up a subject near and dear to my heart: job searches by legal academic couples. Or does it? The post is titled Ariela Migdal on Feminism and the comments veer in all sorts of directions….

Once upon a time it was next to impossible for academic couples to find jobs in the same institution, or even the same city. Now it's just difficult.

Interestingly, the University of Miami School of Law has a proud history of hiring academic couples and making them feel at home. When Caroline and I got hired (she as a visitor with tenure elsewhere, then as a tenured prof, me as a brand new junior hire), we became the third, yes third, academic couple serving on the faculty, and that was not counting the professor-administrative Dean couple, or the previous couple that had since divorced. It was comforting to know that we need not be trailblazers. Even so it took a few years to educate some members of the community that we don't think in lockstep, and that while we can sometimes be trusted to convey messages to the other, neither of us ever speaks for the other.

I have found that our having different surnames and not flaunting the connection at work sometimes leads to interesting conversations, especially with students. We both find that it also tends to cut short all sorts of other potentially interesting professional conversations, especially the ones that start, “we were wondering if you would consider moving to…”.

Having just served on the entry-level hiring committee, I've had a chance to see the couple-hiring question from the buyer as well as the seller side. One thing I like about the way UM dealt with us was that we were treated independently, and the place went to some pains to ensure that we knew we were each being considered on our own merits, rather than treating me as an appendage of my more-accomplished LSE-tenured spouse. We tried to do the same in our entry-level hiring this past year. Sometimes that meant making an offer to only one half of a couple, sometimes it meant the full court press for both.

Posted in Law School | Comments Off on Academics in Love

Creeping Froomkinization

Posted on April 14, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Kevin Hayden of The American Street reports in a somewhat dazed fashion that he has been Froomkinized.

Yes, a specter is haunting the Blogiverse—the specter of Froomkinization.

You know, that has a ring to it, somehow.

(Actually, the funny thing about this story is that I saw Hayden's Questions a Real Press Would Ask , liked it, and thought the questions would be perfect for Dan's Nieman Watchdog, and sent Dan the URL. So it really was a (somewhat unusual) team effort.)

Posted in Dan Froomkin, Discourse.net | 1 Comment

Teaching Loads

Posted on April 14, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Gordon Smith posts a round-up of Law Professor Teaching Loads. It seems that UM's load – 10 credits / year – is no longer as outstanding as it seemed when I was on the market more than a decade ago. Other schools have caught up. So, we still look OK compared to our competitors, but more from the viewpoint of being part of the pack rather than leading it.

As Prof. Smith himself notes, his survey doesn't take into account the complicated question of sabbaticals. If your school were to give you one term off in seven, then the ten credit load would really only be about 8.6 credits/term — a huge difference.

I suspect that policies on sabbaticals vary even more than teaching loads. I've heard of schools where you get one in seven as of right, I've heard of schools where you never get them unless you find outside money to buy your time (which is very hard to find in the law teaching biz, unlike the social sciences and the humanities … not to mention the sciences where it seems commonplace). And then there's the schools where Deans dole out time off as rewards to friends, to productive scholars, to people trying to finish books, or as political chits to buy faculty cooperation on divisive issues.

Then, there's our policy: all junior faculty get one term off of 'writing leave' some time before tenure. But senior faculty have to buy their time off by teaching extra. “Bank” five credits and you are eligible to ask for a term's leave, bank ten and you can ask for a year, but you don't necessarily get it right away depending on teaching needs.

Having duly 'banked,' I will be on leave this coming Spring.

Posted in U.Miami | 1 Comment

Summer Research Assistant Needed

Posted on April 14, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

My regular research assistant has another gig this summer, so I need a summer substitute. If things work out, I could probably employ both of you next year.

The ideal candidate will, in addition to reading this blog, have some experience with unix and PERL, as I plan to do some computer stuff this summer and could use some hand-holding and script-writing. And of course an interest in Internet law and privacy, which are likely to be my main writing topics.

Interested UM law students (sorry, I can't pay others) should give me a copy of your c.v., transcript and a short writing sample, either by email or by dropping it off with my secretary. I welcome 1L applicants every bit as much as 2Ls.

Ideally I'd like 10-20 hours of your time per week, but the exact amount and the number of weeks is negotiable. The pay, however, is inflexibly set by the law school at $ 8/ hour.

Posted in U.Miami | Comments Off on Summer Research Assistant Needed

Tax Day Approaches

Posted on April 14, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

For those, like me, who have yet to file their tax returns, there comes a point where Steve Martin's tax advice starts to seem attractive:

You.. can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You say.. “Steve.. how can I be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes?” First.. get a million dollars. Now.. you say, “Steve.. what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, 'You.. have never paid taxes'?” Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: “I forgot!” How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don't say “I forgot”? Let's say you're on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, “I forgot armed robbery was illegal.” Let's suppose he says back to you, “You have committed a foul crime. you have stolen hundreds and thousands of dollars from people at random, and you say, 'I forgot'?” Two simple words: Excuuuuuse me!!”

Alas, it doesn't work.

Posted in Completely Different | 2 Comments

Meetup Moves to Pay-to-Play Model

Posted on April 13, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Meetup isn't free any longer. The interesting question is how many organizers of meetings will be willing to pay (or at least front, pending contributions from members) $20/month, or even $10/month to keep using the service.

We have here an exciting empirical test of the dollar denominated size of the barriers to group formation so eloquently explored by Mancur Olson in The Logic of Collective Action.

I predict the demise of my local Slashdot meetup — which I've never attended and which from the look of it I'd guess has fewer than six attendees most months.

Changes – Meetup.com: I'm proud to announce that thousands of Meetups are growing and becoming a vital community resource. In fact, the number of Meetups is up 50% this year so far! We couldn't be more excited about the potential for more great Meetups, including yours.

Everyone asks “How does Meetup.com pay its bills?” That question is even more important as we plan new ways for you to grow your group and have better Meetups. To get there together, we are introducing a required small monthly Group Fee to be paid by Organizers.

Do all members pay? No. Organizers pay the Group Fee to Meetup.com and may ask their members to chip in. It's up to the Organizers. The fee is per group, not per person.

How much & when? The regular Group Fee is $19/month, but Organizers of current groups get a special 2005 rate of $9/month if they pay now.

Why a fee? Because we want to be most focused on the people. Nobody else. As Bob Dylan said, you “gotta serve somebody.” Well, if we gotta serve somebody, we prefer it to be you. We're here to help you succeed at growing great Meetups and trust you to understand that 'there's no such thing as a free lunch.' This is all we do, so our success is tied to your success. We intend to earn this fee.

…

Any new benefits? Yes. All members of groups get 1-to-1 email! Plus, we'll ship (mail, not email) materials to Organizers, customized for your group, to help you attract more members. Also, groups get new tools to pool their money to make better Meetups.

Posted in Internet | 2 Comments