Assistant Clinical Professor of Law - Death Penalty Clinic - School of Law

Position overview Position title: Assistant Clinical Professor of Law Salary range: The current salary range for this position is $203,900 -$333,600 (9-month academic year salary), however, off-scale salary and other components of pay, which would yield compensation that is higher than this range, are offered to meet competitive conditions. Anticipated start: July 1, 2027 Application Window Open date: September 24, 2026 Next review date: Monday, Nov 23, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee. Final date: Monday, Nov 23, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date. Position description Berkeley Law is one of the nation's great centers for legal education, ever exploring and pushing new intellectual boundaries while tackling urgent, real-world issues. The law school is also known for its vibrant and engaged community of students and scholars who are committed to providing leadership and making a difference on problems of local, national and global import. Currently ranked among the top law schools in the country, the School of Law has ambitious development goals as it looks to continue producing leaders in law, government, and society. Berkeley Law invites applications for a full-time position on our clinical faculty, teaching in our Death Penalty Clinic. This faculty position entails membership in the Academic Senate with rights and responsibilities that are comparable to the standard professorial track, but with an emphasis on teaching, professional competence and activity, research and creative work, and University and public service. Berkeley Law's Clinical Program includes seven in-house clinics: Environmental Law Clinic, Death Penalty Clinic, Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic, Human Rights Clinic, Policy Advocacy Clinic, Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic, and Social Enterprise Clinic. The program also partners with the East Bay Community Law Center to offer community-based clinics: the Clean Slate Clinic, Community Economic Justice Clinic, Consumer Justice & General Clinic, Youth Defense Clinic, Education Justice Clinic, Health & Welfare Clinic, Housing Law Clinic, and Immigration Law Clinic. The Death Penalty Clinic is dedicated to developing students' advanced legal advocacy skills while providing exceptional legal representation to individuals facing capital punishment. In response to the critical shortage of qualified and adequately funded counsel for people on death row, the clinic represents clients primarily in post-conviction proceedings, with a particular focus on jurisdictions that have the fewest legal resources. The clinic also tackles problems endemic to the administration of capital punishment. Through this work, students gain intensive, hands-on experience in complex litigation while contributing to high-quality representation in cases involving the most serious criminal penalties. The mission of Berkeley Law's Clinical Program is to advance equal justice - racial, economic, and social justice - through three interrelated activities: preparing law students to address pressing societal problems and to become highly skilled, responsible, and reflective legal practitioners; providing first-rate legal services to underrepresented individuals, marginalized communities, and public-minded organizations-locally, nationally, and globally; and producing cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research to support litigation, inform public policy, and increase the effectiveness of our teaching and service. Berkeley Law strives to educate responsible, effective, and forward-thinking advocates who serve the public through legal practice, public policy, academic scholarship, and related fields. In doing so, the school addresses some of society's most pressing challenges by leveraging its strengths in teaching and research to improve law, policy, and public institutions. At the heart of Berkeley Law's public mission is a commitment to access, affordability, and empowering students from all backgrounds to pursue impactful careers across a wide range of professional paths. Berkeley Law is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia. For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit the Office for Faculty Equity and Welfare's website. School Clinical Program Public Mission Qualifications Basic qualifications (required at time of application) Candidates must hold a J.D. or equivalent international degree; be admitted to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction. Preferred qualifications 5 years of legal practice experience. Judicial clerkships count as legal experience. Ability to plan, develop, and manage the clinic's docket and operations. Ability to supervise students' work in a capital defense clinical setting. Ability to co-teach the clinical companion seminar. Ability to supervise other clinical instructors and/or clinical staff. Ability to teach and mentor students from diverse disciplinary, educational, and experiential backgrounds. Commitment to fostering an equitable, inclusive, and interdisciplinary learning environment. Demonstrated potential to contribute to the Law School's public mission through excellence in teaching, scholarship, mentorship, and service, including: preparing students in practice, doctrine, and legal theory while engaging broader political, social, and economic contexts; advancing rigorous, intellectually curious, creative written work in addition to clinical work product and including legal scholarship and/or other intellectual inquiry; and addressing significant legal and societal challenges through research, teaching, and public engagement. Application Requirements Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V. Statement of Clinical Teaching and Service - Please provide a statement discussing your approach to clinical teaching and mentoring, and service. In discussing your teaching interests, we are particularly interested in your teaching experiences or plans regarding teaching in a clinical setting, in addition to your general approach to teaching, supervision, and mentoring. We are also interested in how your approach to teaching and clinical supervision aligns with our public mission, including, e.g., working with students from diverse backgrounds and building an equitable and inclusive learning environment for all students through clinical project design, classroom pedagogy, and individual supervision. We are particularly interested in your experience and approach to teaching and supervising students in the context of defending clients facing capital punishment. In describing your service, we are interested in how your prior and proposed academic, professional and/or public service activities align with our School's public mission. We are also interested in any experience or plans regarding public service involving capital defense, criminal defense, or related areas. Statement of Clinical Vision - Please discuss your vision for clinical projects in the Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic, in light of the history and mission of the clinic. We are also interested in learning about your accomplishments and experience in this area, and how they will contribute to your vision for the future of this clinic. Additionally, please describe any current or future creative work product and/or scholarly plans that you have completed and/or or envision pursuing in this faculty position. Legal Writing Sample - Please provide a recent sample of your legal writing, published or unpublished (e.g., pleadings, motion filings, discovery documents, affidavits, briefs). Authorization to Release Information Form - An institutional reference check will be completed only if you are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. Download, complete, sign, and upload the Authorization to Release Information form. Reference requirements 3 required (contact information only) References will be contacted only for candidates who are under consideration by the full faculty. We will seek your permission before contacting any of your references. About UC Berkeley UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive. The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affi In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter. As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements. The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, or discrimination. Consistent with this commitment, UC Berkeley requires all applicants for Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload an Authorization of Information Release form into AP Recruit as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, applicants will only be subject to institutional reference checks if and when they are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. More information is available on this website. As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct. #J-18808-Ljbffr University of California-Berkeley