Tenured or Tenure-Track Professor – Intellectual Property

Mitchell Hamline School of Law•St Paul, MN

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Mitchell Hamline School of Law seeks applicants for a tenured or tenure-track faculty position in intellectual property law. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2027. We welcome applications from candidates at all career stages and particularly encourage experienced teachers and scholars, including candidates who currently hold tenure at another institution or whose records may support appointment with tenure under Mitchell Hamline's standards. We seek candidates prepared to contribute to teaching, scholarship, faculty governance, curricular leadership, and the strategic development of the law school. The successful candidate will teach in the intellectual property curriculum. Candidates with expertise in patent law are particularly desirable. In addition to teaching IP-related courses, the successful candidate will be expected to teach a first-year, bar-tested, or large-enrollment course; engage in scholarship consistent with the expectations of a tenured or tenure-track faculty appointment; and participate in faculty governance and service. We also seek candidates who are available and enthusiastic about teaching across multiple modalities: in-person classes, synchronous online classes, and in our innovative blended learning program, which is the first and largest program of its kind in the country. Mitchell Hamline's Intellectual Property Institute offers a robust IP curriculum, connects students with faculty and practitioners, and supports students through coursework, mentoring, networking, student organizations, competitions, externships, clinics, and scholarly opportunities. IP students may participate in Cybaris®, an Intellectual Property Law Review; the Student Intellectual Property Law Association; IP moot court; IP externships; and IP clinics that provide real-world experience representing clients and working with inventors, businesses, and members of the innovation community. The law school has a particularly strong foundation in practice-oriented patent education. Mitchell Hamline was one of the first six law schools selected to participate in the USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Program, which allows students to practice patent and trademark law before the USPTO under faculty supervision. Mitchell Hamline's patent-related offerings also include clinical, externship, and pro bono pathways. This position carries a tenured or tenure-track faculty appointment, with rank and tenure status depending on qualifications and experience. We are especially interested in candidates who can contribute to Mitchell Hamline's IP Institute and support students pursuing patent-law and other intellectual property-related careers. Mitchell Hamline is located in St. Paul, on the Indigenous homelands of the Dakota Oyate, at the center of a Twin Cities legal and innovation community that is especially attractive for intellectual property faculty. Minnesota is home to a globally recognized health-technology and life-sciences ecosystem, as well as major companies and innovators in medical devices, health care, food and agriculture, manufacturing, software, financial services, and consumer products. The region offers a deep and varied IP community, including patent lawyers, IP litigators, in-house counsel, inventors, start-ups, established technology companies, and public-interest organizations working on access to innovation. Beyond its legal and innovation sectors, the Twin Cities offer a vibrant cultural and civic community, with nationally recognized arts institutions, diverse neighborhoods, an active nonprofit sector, extensive parks and trails, and a strong tradition of public engagement. The region combines the professional opportunities of a major metropolitan area with a high quality of life, making it an appealing place to teach, write, practice, and build connections across law, technology, business, and public service. An appointment will be made either with tenure or on the tenure track.

Requirements

J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school or equivalent law degree.
Distinguished academic or professional credentials.
Demonstrated expertise in intellectual property law.
Promise or accomplishment as teachers and scholars.

Nice To Haves

Expertise in patent law.
Experience in patent law practice, patent prosecution, patent litigation, technology transactions, innovation policy, or IP-related clinical or experiential teaching.

Responsibilities

Teach in the intellectual property curriculum.
Teach a first-year, bar-tested, or large-enrollment course.
Engage in scholarship consistent with the expectations of a tenured or tenure-track faculty appointment.
Participate in faculty governance and service.
Be available and enthusiastic about teaching across multiple modalities: in-person classes, synchronous online classes, and in our innovative blended learning program.