"Assistant Dean of Academic Planning - School of Law"

Position Overview

Position title: Assistant Dean of Academic Planning

Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/policy-covered-july-2025-scales/t36-ii.pdf. The current base salary range for this position is $84,246- $164,103. 'Off-scale' salaries, which yield compensation that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: Spring 2026

Position duration: One-year term position, with the possibility of renewal.

Application Window

Open date: January 27, 2026

Next review date: Tuesday, Feb 10, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Mar 2, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position Description

The Assistant Dean for Academic Planning (ADAP) supports the Law School's pedagogical mission by helping to create and coordinate the curriculum for all Law students, including the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. programs, to provide them with the legal knowledge and skills necessary to become effective legal practitioners, scholars, and public policy advocates. The ADAP must have substantive expertise in legal education and the administrative and management skills to play a leading role in strategic planning for curriculum development, including course offerings, hiring and allocation of instructors, etc., as well as for the development of policies to improve efficiencies, ensure equity, and promote our educational mission. In addition, the ADAP will help to select and present professional and substantive programming on legal pedagogy. In sum, the core responsibilities of this position are critical to support the development and administration of the educational mission of the Law School.

Duties

The ADAP has four distinct areas of responsibility:

Curriculum planning

• The ADAP works with the Associate Dean for Teaching to identify faculty who can fulfill core curricular needs and to identify courses to be taught by lecturers and visiting faculty.
• The ADAP is primarily responsible for our ABA-required legal ethics curriculum and works with the six lecturers who teach large sections of those courses to ensure that their courses meet the ABA requirements and address current legal ethics issues.
• The ADAP is primarily responsible for identifying courses and hiring instructors for our LL.M. curriculum, which serves approximately 265 students per year in our academic year and additional students in Executive Track programs (Remote + Summer and Two-Summer).
• The ADAP works particularly closely with the staff of the Office of the Registrar on almost every aspect of the course scheduling process to ensure that courses meet ABA and law school academic requirements, and have clear course descriptions and grading rubrics.

Lecturer hiring and review

• The ADAP assists with the Lecturer Hiring and Review Committee, which hires all lecturers, and reviews continuing appointment and merit cases, recommending dispositions to the Dean.
• The ADAP meets bi-monthly with the HR Academic Analysts and the Associate Dean for Teaching to review issues with lecturer hiring and advancement, and is the primary point of contact with lecturers regarding these issues. The ADAP meets with newly-hired lecturers to assist with course design and syllabus preparation.
• The ADAP provides support to lecturers in their teaching and is available for individual consultation to discuss best practices for course development and pedagogy.
• The ADAP administers the course evaluation process and meets with lecturers and faculty to improve their teaching.

Programmatic supervision

• The ADAP supervises all lecturers teaching J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. courses.
• The ADAP oversees our J.D. Writing program and supervises the 12 full-time lecturers who teach the ABA-required Legal Research and Writing (LRAW) program in the Fall and Spring.
• The ADAP directly supervises the Director of LL.M. Legal Writing (AC1), who oversees approximately 19 part-time lecturers who teach Legal Research and Writing for LL.M.s during the Fall semester.
• The ADAP directly supervises the Director of Field Placements (a lecturer with continuing status), the Director of Pro Bono Programs (AC1), the Director of Competitions (AO3), and the Director of UCDC (AC1), as well as the staff that report to them.

Budget Management

• The ADAP oversees seven separate budgets for different programs at the Law School, including the Experiential Education budget, the J.D. Legal Writing Instructor budget, the Competitions budget, and the Field Placement Program budget. Specifically, the ADAP has the following, budget-related responsibilities:
• Management of the unit's budget, including compensation and non-compensation operating expenses;
• Participation in the annual budget review process and setting of strategic goals for the unit in consultation with the Dean, Associate Dean, and others;
• Reviewing periodic budget updates and making mid-year, budget-related adjustments as needed;
• Working with direct reports to ensure they are on track to remain within approved budgets and provide guidance;
• Using and interpreting budgetary information as needed to make programmatic and staffing decisions;
• Evaluation of complex financial and budgetary information in order to evaluate program performance, needs, or proposed changes, and to respond to Law School and campus requests for information related to expenses and revenue for programs.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

• Candidates must hold a J.D. degree or equivalent international degree.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

• At least ten years of professional work experience in law practice or at a U.S. law school.
• At least 5 year of management and supervisory experience (which can take place within the 10 years of professional work experience in law practice or in a law school)
• At least three years of professional experience with budget management. (This experience can take place within the 10 years of professional work experience in law practice or in a law school.)

Preferred qualifications

• At least five years of experience supervising academic employees, including those with a J.D. or equivalent international degree
• At least five years of management experience in a U.S. Law school, with a preference for experience in a top-20 law school.
• Experience in a management position in the University of California system.
• Experience in law teaching in a U.S. law school.
• Familiarity with the needs and interests of international students (who are typical participants in the LL.M. program).
• Experience working in or managing in a collective bargaining environment.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills needed to ensure clear policies and procedures among cross-departmental communication and collaboration.
• Experience in administrative operations creating ongoing operational efficiencies.
• Strong commitment to effective management practices, staff development and morale.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Writing Sample - Appropriate styles would be a comment letter, white paper, or other writing sample of no more than 10 pages. The purpose of this sample is to illustrate the writer's capacity to write clearly, concisely and effectively.

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)