DeanWuBlog

Titles

When I started out as a law professor, I thought it would be best to use first names with students on a reciprocal basis. So I would call them by their first name and I'd encourage them to call me "Frank." After all, I was not too much older than most of them and younger than some of them. It would set a friendlier tone in the classroom.

After a year, I realized that this was -- at least for me in that particular context -- not the best practice. My age and their ages were irrelevant: I was the teacher and they were the students and we were not on an equal basis. If we were, there would be no reason for me to be standing behind the podium at the front of the classroom. And of course even I didn't want to resemble the stereotype of a law professor as curmudgeon, the students and I were not in fact friends. Suggesting that we had such a relationship made me less effective, not more effective, in a professional school.

What convinced me, however, to shift to last names was the disparity that became apparent. People are raised in different cultural backgrounds with different expectations about social distance and respect. No matter how much I tried to persuade everyone to use first names, a significant number of students would not do so. For understandable reasons, indeed with principles that perhaps reflected their seriousness of purpose in our shared academic endeavor, they insisted on calling me "Professor," or even "Sir." As a consequence, allowing people to use my first name only produced an uncomfortable situation. A handful of students, some of whom presumed a familiarity that was not mutual, would use my first name; a few others would, with evident discomfort, use my first name; and everyone else would use my last name. Based on casual observation, my sense was that the differences correlated strongly to race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, and geographic origins – criteria that could lead to invidious distinctions.

To ensure I set a good example, I try when addressing students to refer to everyone who works at the Law School by title and last name. Of course, individuals may have different preferences and there are many instances where a relationship develops that makes first names entirely appropriate.

Once a student has graduated, I expect we will both have a different understanding of matters. Anyone who is an alumnus should use my first name; it would be awfully pretentious of me to ask otherwise. For our goal is to ensure that the students whom we have the privilege of educating become our peers as members of the legal community.

Adversaries

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of training people in the art of advocacy is cultivating the ability to argue to a decision-maker rather than to argue with that person. An advocate serves her cause best, however, when she understands how to present the case to the court and the public. Even in an adversarial system, doing so requires respect for the authority of the officials entrusted with the matter. Engaging effectively with one’s adversary also doesn’t require hostility toward her. As Tranio said in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, “And do as adversaries do in law – strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.” (More)