Should Law Profs Who Demonstrate a Lack of Expertise in Providing Real World Legal Advice Be Allowed to Teach Doctrinal Law Classes?

As previously noted, Harvard Law School is a rarity in the legal academy in that it unofficially bifurcates faculty members who are hired to teach and those hired because they are recognized rock stars (or potential rock stars) who do offer courses (even 1L courses) but are essentially members of the HLS faculty to retain and enhance Harvard Law's reputation by scholarly publications and by being players on the national, even international, stage. Stanford Law's Faculty Director, Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law and Professor of Law, John Yoo, is both a recognized scholar and has been a player on the national stage. While author of The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11 (University of Chicago Press, 2005), War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terror (Grove/Atlantic, 2006), and Crisis and Command: The History of Executive Power From George Washington to George W. Bush (Kaplan, 2010) plus numerous articles as well as speaking engagements on the law prof lecture circuit, Yoo is best known for his work in DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel during George W. Bush's War on Terror administration. You remember his DOJ OLC work product, the "Torture Memo" advice he rendered, right?

via lawprofessors.typepad.com