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107 Mich. L. Rev. 881 (2008-2009)
Why Write

handle is hein.journals/mlr107 and id is 893 raw text is: FOREWORD: WHY WRITE? Erwin Chemerinsky* INTRODUCTION This wonderful collection of reviews of leading recent books about law provides the occasion to ask a basic question: why should law professors write? There are many things that law professors could do with the time they spend writing books and law review articles. More time and attention could be paid to students and to instructional materials. More professors could do pro bono legal work of all sorts. In fact, if law professors wrote much less, teaching loads could increase, faculties could decrease in size, and tuition could decrease substantially. The answer to the question why write is neither intuitive nor obvious. Nevertheless, as a professor who has been writing for almost thirty years, much of which likely never has been read by anyone,' I find myself inevita- bly asking what is worth writing about and for whom. As a new dean (of a new law school), I have begun to think of this question in a more institu- tional context: what faculty behaviors should a law school encourage and reward? The answer to this question seemed far easier earlier in my academic ca- reer, as it probably is for most faculty members beginning in the academy. I was writing to establish my academic reputation (and to get tenure). I knew that writing that impressed other academics was the key to advancing in my chosen profession-pleasing those within my institution, opening the door to moving to other schools, and fostering my reputation so that I would re- ceive recognition such as being invited to speak at conferences and being thought well of by my peers in academia. As I observe my more junior colleagues, I realize that they are far more sophisticated than I was in working toward these goals. They spend far more time than I did in making strategic choices about topics that will lead to prominent placements and taking actions to gain recognition. They focus much more than I ever did on the hierarchy of law reviews and trying to draw fine distinctions among them in deciding where to publish. It is now common for faculty to send out hundreds of reprints to other academics. I never have sent out reprints; it always felt like uncomfortable self- promotion. * Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine, School of Law. I am grateful to Catherine Fisk, whose ideas are reflected throughout this Foreword. 1. I confess that I never have done a citation count of any article that I have written. I prefer not to know the reality that some of what I have written almost surely never has been read or cited. 881

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