A part-time law school faculty member — typically a practicing attorney, judge, or legal professional teaching one or two courses per year alongside their primary practice. Common path for practitioners who enjoy teaching and want to mentor law students.
Most weeks (typically during semesters when teaching) tend to involve class preparation and teaching, student office hours, grading, and the occasional faculty meeting or curriculum work. You'll often teach a single section of a doctrinal or skills course (often a practitioner-oriented offering — civil procedure, evidence, trial advocacy, transactional drafting, specific practice areas) and balance teaching responsibilities with full-time practice or judicial work.
The variance between settings is real — adjunct positions at top law schools tend to be competitive and prestigious; regional law schools rely heavily on adjuncts for practitioner-oriented courses; clinical adjuncts run live-client clinics with student practitioners; some adjuncts teach single LLM or summer programs. Compensation tends to be modest ($5K-$15K per course is typical), with most adjuncts motivated by teaching rather than income.
People who tend to thrive here are comfortable with the dual demands of practice and teaching, capable of translating practitioner insights into structured pedagogy, and patient with the time investment relative to compensation. Strong practice background in the course subject area anchors most adjunct positions. The work tends to offer the satisfaction of mentoring law students, intellectual engagement, and credibility within the legal community, with the trade-off being the time investment and modest pay — for those drawn to teaching alongside practice, the role offers durable engagement.
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.
A part-time law school faculty member — typically a practicing attorney, judge, or legal professional teaching one or two courses per year alongside their primary practice. Common path for practitioners who enjoy teaching and want to mentor law students.
Median pay for a Law Adjunct 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, Reading Comprehension, Learning Strategies, Active Listening, 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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