A Plea for Rationality and Decency: The Disparate Treatment of Legal Writing Faculties as a Violation of Both Equal Protection and Professional Ethics

Authors

Peter Brandon Bayer

Abstract

At most American law schools, legal writing faculty members are treated differently than their counterparts. Such disparate treatment extends not only to compensation levels but also to law school governance, tenure opportunities, and even to the size and location of office space. After explicating in detail the functions and contributions of legal writing faculty members, the author asserts that no rational basis exists to support these disparities. In the absence of a rational basis, the author contends that such disparate treatment violates the equal protection principle of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and the professional ethical standards by which American law schools must abide.

First Page

329

Recommended Citation

Peter B. Bayer, A Plea for Rationality and Decency: The Disparate Treatment of Legal Writing Faculties as a Violation of Both Equal Protection and Professional Ethics, 39 Duq. L. Rev. 329 (2001).
Available at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol39/iss2/4