The Future of the Legal Academy, Legal Scholarship and Race Theory

In "A World Without Law Professors" (http://ssrn.com/abstract=1481868) , Mathias Siems has recently considered what the world would be like without law professors. Such speculation may be useful because some argue that the legal academy is about to undergo major changes, including the downsizing of law faculty. See David Barnhizer, "Redesigning the American Law School" (http://ssrn.com/abstract=1516468) (arguing that "the existing model of American university legal education is unsustainable"). Some of the changes are anticipated in Siems' article, including a shift in the training of lawyers from law schools to practitioners. Among the shifts that Siems contemplates is that as the changes occur, the nature of legal scholarship will become increasingly interdisciplinary. Siems' article suggest that legal scholars who are more likely to survive may well be those who are able to market themselves to other academic disciplines. Thus, race scholars, including LatCrit scholars, should be in a fairly good position over time as they are potentially marketable to other disciplines, including history, sociology and Latino/a studies or ethnic studies.