Visiting Legal Writing Professor, UK Rosenberg College of Law

Job Title
Visiting Legal Writing Professor, UK Rosenberg College of Law

Requisition Number
FE04905

Working Title

Department Name
8K100:Law Instruction

Work Location
Lexington, KY

Type of Position
Faculty

Position Time Status
Full-Time

Tenure Track Status
Non-Tenure Track

Required Education

J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school

Required Related Experience

Legal-practice experience that demonstrates the potential for excellence in teaching legal writing and other lawyering skills. Previous experience teaching legal writing is strongly preferred.

Required License/Registration/Certification

n/a

Job Summary

Visiting Legal Writing Faculty for Fall 2026 & Spring 2027

The J. David Rosenberg College of Law at the University of Kentucky seeks to hire a full-time, nine-month, visiting faculty member to teach in our first-year legal research and writing (LRW) program during the 2026-2027 academic year. The program involves a two-semester curriculum, with two credits per semester, which covers the fundamentals of legal research, legal analysis, legal writing, and legal citation. The fall course focuses on predictive writing, and the spring course focuses on persuasive writing with a brief introduction to oral advocacy. Students retain the same professor for both semesters.

The successful candidate will teach two sections of the first-year LRW courses. Typical section size ranges from 18 to 22 students. The visiting faculty member will work collaboratively with other full-time faculty involved in the LRW, including a library faculty liaison who teaches the legal research component of the courses, and the LRW program’s director. In addition to teaching, the visiting faculty member will maintain regular office hours, evaluate student assignments, and hold individual conferences.

Interested candidates must have a J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school, strong analytical and rhetorical skills, and legal-practice experience that demonstrates the potential for excellence in teaching legal writing and other lawyering skills. Previous experience teaching legal writing is strongly preferred.

Salary will be $90,000.

Employment at UK is subject to fund availability and comes with many rewards, focusing on your total well-being and career development, with leadership striving to provide a strong work-life integration. The university generously contributes to employees’ medical coverage, and in addition, UK offers optional benefits such as dental and vision insurance, additional retirement plans and much more. To learn more about these benefits, please visit: www.uky.edu/HR/benefits.

A complete application should be submitted, and it must include a cover letter detailing the applicant’s interest and qualifications for teaching legal writing, a curriculum vitae or resume, a writing sample that reflects either recent work in practice or teaching materials the applicant has prepared, and at least three professional references. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled, with priority given to those received by June 12, 2026.

For further information, please contact Professor Melissa Henke, Director of Legal Research and Writing, by email at melissa.henke@uky.edu.

Lexington is in the center of the Bluegrass, an internationally acclaimed cultural landscape, and in close proximity to Louisville and Cincinnati. It is a community of 300,000 and is distinguished by its rating as one of the top 10 most educated cities in the nation (according to the U.S. Census), top 5 cities for young professionals (Kiplinger), top 3 mid-sized cities for lowest cost of living (KPMGLLP), and top 5 cities to raise a family (Forbes). More information on Lexington is available at http://www.visitlex.comandhttp://www.aceweekly.com.

Skills / Knowledge / Abilities

Does this position have supervisory responsibilities?
No

Preferred Education/Experience

Deadline to Apply

Open Until Filled
Yes

Our University Community

We value the well-being of each of our employees and are dedicated to creating a healthy place for everyone to work, learn and live. In the interest of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our students, employees, patients and visitors, the University of Kentucky is a Tobacco & Drug Free campus.

The University follows both the federal and state Constitutions as well as all applicable federal and state laws on nondiscrimination. The University provides equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status or whether the person is a smoker or nonsmoker, as long as the person complies with University regulation concerning smoking.

Any candidate offered a position may be required to pass pre-employment screenings as mandated by University of Kentucky Human Resources. These screenings may include a national background check and/or drug screen.