A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.  Please also provide a writing sample that demonstrates your motion/brief writing skills.

About the MDefenders Center for Public Defense

The MDefenders Center for Public Defense is a national hub at Michigan Law dedicated to strengthening public defense through education, training, research, and engagement with the defender community. Building on Michigan Law's longstanding commitment to public defense, the Center trains and supports the next generation of client-centered public defenders, develops innovative and practical training resources for defenders nationwide, expands initiatives such as Data for Defenders, and brings together students, alumni, practitioners, scholars, and policymakers to address some of the most pressing challenges facing public defense systems. The Center's work is grounded in the belief that strong public defense is essential not only to protecting individual rights but also to ensuring the fairness, legitimacy, and effective functioning of the criminal legal system.  

About Michigan Law

Founded in 1859, Michigan Law is one of the world's leading institutions of legal education. The Law School is known for academic excellence, intellectual rigor, outstanding faculty scholarship, and a collegial and supportive community. Its graduates serve across the private, public, nonprofit, government, and academic sectors in the United States and around the world. The University of Michigan is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Michigan Law has more than 22,000 alumni, over 1,000 J.D. candidates, and 107 full-time faculty members, including 55 tenured and tenure-track, 27 clinical and legal practice, and 57 part-time faculty members. For the graduating class of 2024, 98 percent were employed. Contributing to the close-knit law-school community, law students have a choice of 9 student-edited journals and more than 70 student organizations in which to participate.

The University of Michigan Law School invites applications for a full-time Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and Associate Director of the MDefenders Center for Public Defense. This unique position combines experiential teaching, strategic litigation, program leadership, and the development of practical resources for public defenders. As a Clinical Assistant Professor, this person will teach simulation-based courses for students pursuing careers in public defense and spearhead the development of a new strategic litigation initiative that will partner with public defender offices seeking to address systemic legal issues affecting their clients and communities. As the Associate Director for the Center, this person will help lead the Center's programs, create innovative training materials for defenders nationwide, and direct the expansion of Data for Defenders, which connects defenders with cutting-edge research and resources to support litigation and systemic advocacy. This person will also advise and mentor law students interested in public defense careers.

The appointment will be for three years with the possibility of renewal based on satisfactory performance and the availability of funding. The salary will be comparable to that of other entry-level experiential education professors, taking into account the applicant's background and experience. 

Experiential Teaching and Strategic Litigation

• Teach simulation-based courses focused on public defense practice, advocacy, and professional development.

• Spearhead the design and development of a strategic litigation initiative that partners with public defender offices seeking to address systemic legal issues affecting their clients and communities.

• Supervise and mentor students involved in the strategic litigation initiative.

• Develop course materials, simulations, litigation resources, and other teaching tools that can inform the Center's broader training work.

Associate Director and Center Leadership

• Work closely with the Center's Faculty Director and other Center staff to develop and implement the Center's strategic priorities and programs.

• Help create and deliver practical training materials, curricula, and programming for public defenders, law students, alumni, and public defense organizations.

• Spearhead the growth of Data for Defenders, including developing and editing content, supervising students who draft pleadings for the database, expanding partnerships, and increasing the project's reach and usefulness to defenders nationwide.

• Build and maintain relationships with public defender offices, defender organizations, alumni, faculty, researchers, and other partners whose work can advance the Center's mission.

• Contribute to conferences, trainings, convenings, and other Center initiatives designed to connect research, education, and public defense practice.

• Help identify opportunities for new projects and collaborations that strengthen public defense systems and expand the Center's national impact.

Student and Alumni Engagement

• Advise and mentor Michigan Law students interested in public defense careers.

• Support programming that connects students with Michigan Law alumni and other public defense practitioners.

• Help strengthen the Center's network of public defense alumni and create opportunities for alumni to participate in mentoring, training, and other Center initiatives.

Required qualifications include:

• A J.D. degree and admission to a state bar

• Minimum of three years of experience working in indigent defense

• Demonstrated commitment to client-centered public defense and to improving the quality and effectiveness of public defense systems

• Excellent legal research, writing, litigation, communication, and organizational skills

• Ability to work collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, practitioners, and institutional partners

• Experience teaching, training, or mentoring lawyers and/or law students

Desired qualifications include:

• Clinical, simulation-based, or other experiential teaching experience
• Impact, appellate, or strategic litigation experience involving systemic legal issues
• Experience developing practice resources, litigation materials, research tools, or online legal resources
• Experience with program development, project management, or leadership within a public defense, legal services, nonprofit, academic, or similar organization

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.