“Law Prof Swaps Ivory Tower for Capitol Hill”

NLJ:

Jamie Raskin will administer his last Constitutional Law final exam on Wednesday at American University Washington College of Law after 26 years of teaching. Raskin won’t be retiring down to Florida or hitting the bingo circuit, however. He’s trading the Ivory Tower for the halls of Capitol Hill, having won a seat to represent Maryland’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives after a hard-fought primary that was the most expensive in the country this year. He is the sole law professor joining Congress this cycle….

How are you feeling about leaving the academy?

It’s hard. My professional identity is definitely that of a law professor. There are people who go into politics who are law professors, but some of them did it for 45 minutes, like Bill Clinton en route to running for attorney general of Arkansas. I’m a real law professor. I’ve got tenure. I’ve written books and dozens of law review articles that nobody reads. I’m more like Elizabeth Warren, who was a real law professor with a body of work to her name, who made contributions as a legal scholar and intellectual….

How did your students react to you winning the election?

They gave me a standing ovation on the day after the election. That was very nice. Ever since I got into politics, I think my students have a little more respect for me now that I do more than just write law review articles.

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