Law Professors in High Demand

Amid the heated debate among the nation’s universities over the total number of students to be admitted to the planned law schools and the number of students to be accepted by each school, universities are also engaging in fierce competition to secure talented law professors.

Unlike the past, when major universities in Seoul used to scout professors from outside Seoul, top universities in Seoul are now turning their eyes to professors in other schools within the region.

As universities gear up for the opening of their law schools, the long-anticipated reshaping of law faculties does not come as a surprise. After Seoul National University (SNU) announced that they are recruiting new law professors at the beginning of the month, heads of law departments unanimously say that the reshaping will have much bigger impact than expected.

Meanwhile, SNU is mostly reviewing candidates recommended by their existing law professors rather than looking at general applicants. Ho Mun-hyeok, the dean of SNU’s law department, said, “Among those recommended, we have more than 100 strong candidates. Some of them are professors in other universities.”

SNU is planning to announce its final list by organizing a special committee on the appointment. However, rumors already have it that SNU has already confirmed five to six big figures among potential law professors.

Korea University and Yonsei University, two of the nation’s top ranking universities, have been approaching law professors in other universities. A Korea University professor said, “Some say it is selfish to ‘steal’ professors. However, if we want to make a globally competitive law school, securing the best faculty is a must. Considering Korea’s limited pool of law professors, scouting professors from other universities is inevitable.”

Some universities whose prospects of opening a law school are relatively weak are scouting law professors just for the sake of keeping other universities in check. A law professor from ‘A’ university said, “We heard a rumor that our competitor ‘B’ got in touch with six or seven of our professors. It is probably trying to weaken our possibility of setting up law school by eroding our law faculty.”

Heads of law departments of some universities, including Konkuk University, have recently held meetings to conjure up a gentleman’s agreement to defer from hostile scouting between each other, but the effort bore little fruit.

As the nation’s top universities, including SNU, Korea University and Yonsei University, are engaging in a scouting frenzy of law professors, there has been a major shift in law faculty nationwide. Such movement in particular has adversely affected universities outside Seoul as many professors appointed at the beginning of the year for the prospect of opening a law school have resigned to move to schools in Seoul area.

A dean of the law department in ‘C’ university in Gyeonggi area complained, “We recently lost three professors to schools within Seoul. Schools outside Seoul are utterly discouraged because major universities in Seoul are snatching away talented law professors.”

The fierce competition for law professors is not only a problem for universities, but also for law firms. Lawyers in major law firms, a job of envy with their high paychecks, are flocking to law schools. Some law firms have sent notices to lawyers saying, “If you are negotiating for a new job in a law school, don’t get involved in long-term cases” or “disclose your plans if you are moving to a law school and start handing over your duties to your replacement.”

A well-known tax affairs law firm even posted a company notice that said, “Do not go to universities that fall below the standard for the sake of the company’s reputation.”

A judge-turned-lawyer of a law firm said, “Although lawyers make a lot of money, we barely have any time for ourselves due to the heavy workload. So many lawyers are interested in teaching at law universities as professors have relatively more time on their hands.”

foryou@donga.com