An academic teaching and researching criminal law at a law school — covering substantive criminal law, procedure, constitutional protections in criminal proceedings, and the doctrinal framework of criminal justice. Often a 1L offering plus upper-level criminal procedure or specialized seminars.
Most days tend to balance teaching criminal law and procedure courses, legal scholarship for law journals, student advising, and the service obligations of law faculty. You'll often prepare for case-method classes, work on articles addressing criminal law doctrine or policy, comment on emerging cases or legislation, and participate in clinic or externship oversight if the school has criminal law clinics.
The variance between institutions is significant — elite law schools expect high publication output in top journals and lighter teaching loads; regional law schools emphasize teaching and bar passage; some criminal law professors also direct clinics (prosecution, defense, innocence projects) that combine teaching with active practice. Practitioner backgrounds (former prosecutor, defender, judge) tend to shape what professors emphasize.
People who tend to thrive here are comfortable with doctrinal depth and the public-policy dimensions of criminal justice, capable of teaching emotionally charged material, and patient with the slow arc of legal scholarship. JD plus practice experience or strong clerkships anchor entry. The work tends to offer academic freedom, intellectual community, and growing public engagement opportunities, with the trade-off being the modest pay relative to private legal practice and the politically-charged subject matter — for those committed to criminal law academia, the role shapes a long-arc career.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
An academic teaching and researching criminal law at a law school — covering substantive criminal law, procedure, constitutional protections in criminal proceedings, and the doctrinal framework of criminal justice. Often a 1L offering plus upper-level criminal procedure or specialized seminars.
Median pay for a Criminal Law Professor is about $127K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $58K to $208K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Learning Strategies, and Instructing.
Most people in this role hold a doctoral degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 2.2% through 2034, with roughly 22,800 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Law Lecturer, Law Professor, and Law Instructor.
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