The Blackbook's first annual Top Law Prof. Competition ended last night. Our final five contenders were:1. Peter Smith (GWU)
2. Aaron Twerski (Brooklyn)
3. Richard Epstein (Chicago/NYU)
4. Catherine Struve (Penn)
5. Tobias Wolff (Penn)
I am pleased to announce that the winner, by a narrow (but decisive) margin, is Peter Smith from GWU. Collectively, we received just under 500 total votes from our readers in the two voting rounds of the Competition. Professor Smith received about 60% of these votes. I spoke with some readers who voted for Professor Smith, and asked them to explain their vote; their answers are reproduced below, unedited. The comments speak for themselves, and demonstrate how revered Professor Smith truly is:
"Peter Smith is, by far, the best professor I've had in law school. A feat accomplished not by ingratiating himself with the students through corny jokes or a "dazzling" presentation style - but by demonstrating, in a warm and human manner, the sheer force of intellect required to parse legal issues. He was both extremely demanding and extremely giving - of his time, his insight, and his support. I consider myself lucky to have had him as a professor."Congratulations, again, to Peter Smith of The George Washington University Law School! The honor is well-deserved, and speaks directly to the skill that is--in my opinion, anyway--the most important asset a law professor can have.
------
"Peter Smith is without a doubt the best professor I have ever had. Not only is he absolutely brilliant, but he has a way of capturing the class's attention like I have never experienced before. There are many professors who can make criminal law or constitutional law interesting, but Professor Smith is one of those rare breeds that somehow transforms an otherwise boring civil procedure class into an all-time favorite. He is what every law school professor should aspire to be."
------
"There were times when Prof. Smith's class would end, and I would sit staring at my notes wondering a) how he managed to untangle an extremely difficult doctrine in such a digestible fashion, and b) how the class had flown by so quickly. That was the mystery of Prof Smith - he is neither flashy nor funny, not overly friendly or mean; but he manages to make time fly by forcing you to learn in ways you had never previously done. Even being on call is a unique experience, as he manages to be both terrifying and friendly at the same time - magically able to extract the answer he is looking for no matter what response the student gives. Smith is the quintessential law school professor, who would be able to explain the most complex legal topics to anyone willing to pay even half-attention."
Congrats Professor Smith!
ReplyDeletevery excited about this
ReplyDeleteGW to T14
ReplyDeleteIf USN ranked what matters, it would be close to the very top.
ReplyDeleteYAY!! I love professor smith
ReplyDeleteI am depositing at GW, and one of the reasons is I've heard how great the faculty is. Even so, I'm floored by the comments those students left. I hope I get Smith!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSmith was my favorite Prof. of all time. The guy was born to teach.
ReplyDeleteThanks Prof. Smith...
ReplyDeleteof my 3 years at GW, I will remember Professor Smith's class as the fondest memory of my time here
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Professor Smith, even though he gave me the lowest grade of my academic career. Fantastic professor. I was crushed when he went on sabbatical this past year. I hope I can take him again before I graduate, but I might consider pass/fail : )
ReplyDeleteGreat professor - and as an added bonus, he looks like Calvin's dad from Calvin & Hobbes, who was also an attorney!
ReplyDeleteProf. SmithCalvin's Dad
People are buzzing about this at GW..it made the portal. Great job Professor Smith!
ReplyDeleteGo Go Smith!!!
ReplyDeleteYay! I love Prof. Smith! I also received a lower grade in his class but it doesn't change the fact that he was the best Prof. I've had! Loved him! I wish he would teach more upper level classes!
ReplyDeleteAgreed!!!! I am THRILLED that Professor Smith won. He was by far the best professor I had in law school, and, as someone stated above, somehow magically turned something like civil procedure into one of the most interesting classes I've ever had. He's brilliant! (Although, I was admittedly terrified of being called on in his class, and of course I was never more prepared for a class in law school!)
ReplyDeleteThe votes themselves are significant in spite of any GW viewer/size bias, but I think the comments are more so because everyone I know from my 1L class with Smith feels exactly the same way as every single one of those commenters the mods collected. Heck, people who got low grades in his class are coming in here and singing his praises. I'm glad GW's admin saw this because they need to know what a gem they have, and do everything they can to keep him at the school. Thanks for everything Professor Smith. Truly the best.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, I didn't think he was anything that special when I took his class...but everyone else absolutely loved him (perhaps my expectations were too high?). Anyway, great guy and congrats to him
ReplyDeleteI thought he was an amazing, fantastic professor. Not to mention brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI had prof. smith for Con. Law last year...and he was the most brilliant individual I have ever come across
ReplyDeleteA professor at "28" wins?
ReplyDeleteI don't get why people are "buzzing" about this at GW Law? This whole blog is current and former GW Law students. How appropriate that GW is using this to detract from the abysmal USN ranking. Why has no one posted anything on the portal about the rankings? Don't the rankings clearly show the low standards of teh part-time program.
ReplyDelete@ 1:15--
ReplyDeleteYou said: "this whole blog is current and former GW Law students."
That's not true at all. Many of our readers are practitioners, former law students and students at other schools. It is true that many of our most enthusiastic readers are from GW (and Penn and Loyola), but it's not a GW blog by any means; we're averaging close to a thousand unique visitors a day right now from all over the country (and globe). And while I don't recall the specifics, I believe twelve-to-fifteen schools were represented in Round 2 and four were represented in Round 3. In short, your critique is overstated at best.
Moreover, we've made a point of noting the obvious sample bias in this competition on many occasions, but--given its purpose--think it's really irrelevant. We wanted to honor professors who our readers thought were the best because we believe that teaching ability is one of the most important skills a law professor can have (and a skill that is, unfortunately, infrequently emphasized by law school administrations). That's what we've done.
Congratulations, again, to Professor Smith and all of our competitors for continuing to inspire our readers.
Hurray For Smith!
ReplyDeleteI had the pleasure of taking his Civ Pro class, and I agree. Despite the large number of great professors at GW, some of whom have more of a reputation and who are very popular with students, Smith's teaching ability stands out. He's a god amongst men, no hyperbole.
Smith is in my top 3 along with Kerr and Colby. Good job, man.
ReplyDelete"Why has no one posted anything on the portal about the rankings? Don't the rankings clearly show the low standards of teh part-time program"
ReplyDelete-(1) The Dean sent an email to all students addressing the rankings drop. It's not as though it's gone unnoticed. (2) What does the part-time program have to do with Peter Smith's teaching ability?
"A professor at "28" wins?"
-Believe it or not, the school is still called the George Washington University Law School. We've yet to change the name to "28." It is also the same school that it was the day before the rankings came out. Moreover, you'll have to explain to me what being "28" has to do with Professor Smith's excellence as a teacher. This may be difficult for you to comprehend, but not every great professor ends up at Yale... or maybe that's just my inferior, 28th-ranked intellect at work.
Who cares about the rankings--great school with great faculty. I was an evening student and I would not say that the standards were low. Bear in mind, if you will, that for the most part, the evening students were working full time during the day and juggling the demands of family as well. My classmates were fantastic and supportive. Peter Smith taught Civ Pro to the evening students our first semester and I will never forget his tremendous presence and intelligence. I very much admire his intellect and think that his presence at GWU is a valuable asset to the school. And for the record, I ended up at a great firm. 28, or evening program, doesn't mean anything.
ReplyDeleteA well deserved honor for Professor Smith...the man whose intellect shamed me into aborting a career in law. I have never felt such terror, nor ineptitude, as those Monday and Tuesday evenings in Smith's Civ Pro class. He challenged us to rise to his level, but always did it with a level of respect that earned our admiration. Kudos.
ReplyDelete