How to lead and manage Law schools “in a grand manner”

I have been a consultant of many academic institutions and sat in the Board of Trustees in a number of universities and colleges. I have been teaching Law in a number of law schools. Perhaps, I have earned the right to share some nuggets of wisdom on managing Law schools.

First, the board of trustees must be fully and unconditionally committed to academic excellence, not just profit-making. Education is not a business but a mission. Those who want to make a lot of money better establish a bank, a hotel, airline, or run a chain of pawnshops. But education is essentially a service to the nation and to the people. That is why the best Law schools all over the world are either run by the state or by religious congregations. University administration should support Law schools with competitive compensation for faculty, an excellent library, and deans that are paid equal if not more than bank CEOs.

Second, screen your faculty. Not all lawyers can be excellent Law professors. A teacher of excellence must not only have an excellent legal mind but must have a compassionate heart, with the passion of Gandhi and the patience of Mother Teresa. He must work hard and yet be an inspiration to the students. The professor must be paid well, at the lowest, based on today's cost of living, at least P4,000 per hour net of tax. He should be paid more in the classroom than when he is the courtroom. By that, he should be ashamed to come to class unprepared. Of course, even when underpaid, a passionate professor teaches Law with excellence and valor.

Third, and perhaps, the most important; screen your students based on the strict requirements of the Law education board. Only the best and the most competent should be allowed to enter Law schools. The Law schools admission test should put emphasis on a.) Communication skills, which means the ability to translate their lucid thoughts into clearly-written expression; b.) Ability to read and comprehend fast and accurately: and c.) Logic, the ability to draw conclusions from the major premise of law and the minor premise of facts. Applicants to enter Law schools, should pass both rigid written tests and a panel interview by a team of excellent and experienced faculty.

Fourth; choose a full-time dean, one excellent lawyer who focuses on legal education, not just as a second job to being a trial lawyer or a corporate attorney. That person will make or unmake Law schools, it is he or she who plans, appoints, schedules, and implements Law school programs and strategies. He is both the captain on deck and the chief engineer to run the Law school in an excellent and flawless manner. He determines the faculty membership, evaluates them, hires and fires them according to best standards of Law schools excellence. And so, the dean must be paid well and rewarded according to caliber and performance. At least, the dean's pay should not be lower than the president of a bank.

How to lead and manage Law schools “in a grand manner”