ContractsProf Spotlight: Chapin Cimino Cody

Chapin Cimino Cody (Drexel University)
BA, Denison University
JD, University of Chicago

Chapin Cimino Cody is part of the inaugural faculty at Drexel Law School, where she will teach Contracts.

The paths I’ve followed haven’t always beenwell-illuminated. The one I’m on now, infact, has led me to a brand new, pre-accreditedlaw school (albeit one at an established, well-regarded researchinstitution). The “story” of how Iultimately found this job is that, while I did realize in my first or secondyear of law school that teaching law would be the best job imaginable, I didn’tbegin then meticulously plotting an academic trajectory. Instead I went down a few side roads and soonenough I found my way to the right place. 

I didn’t start out looking for the side roads, however. In law school I followed the crowd to the doorsof the big New York firms. I decided to spend my secondsummer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Igenuinely liked the firm, so I accepted their offer to join the litigationpractice after graduation. But a detourto Philadelphiato clerk changed that plan.  In the EasternDistrict of Pennsylvania, I saw many interesting things: impeccably writtenbriefs, skilled oral advocates, sophisticated commercial disputes, and youngwomen being given a lot of responsibility on pending cases.  Some of these revelations came as quite a surprise,as every New York lawyer I had known insistedthere was no sophisticated commercial litigation outside of New York.  Still, these observations, coupled with whatseemed to be an oddly high divorce rate among the New York lawyers, convinced me to stay in Philadelphia. So I told my firm I wouldn’t be coming thatfall after all. The utility of this movewas at best uncertain given one bit of conventional wisdom, which is thatpedigrees from fancy New Yorkfirms certainly help aspiring teaching candidates down the road.

In Philly I practiced commercial litigation at a great firm,Pepper Hamilton, and got tremendous experience. I worked at a high level on lots of different commercial matters — contract,antitrust, securities, copyright and trademark. I also got some practice experience in public law areas, namely firstamendment and higher education work, which I loved. I got trial experience, mediation experience,mentoring experience — all kinds of good stuff. I worked at a sane place with good people anddid well.

Then my first daughter arrived. At the time my spouse was consulting (read:traveling 4-5 days/week) and I knew I couldn’t do what I needed to do and keepall fronts covered adequately, so I took a big risk and took an extendedmaternity leave. The last time I checked,“extended maternity leave” is not on anyone’s list of “how to get a teachingjob” (Leiter?  Wendel?). I ended up staying out for two years – havinga second child (another daughter) almost right away and also teaching for thefirst time.  To stay engaged while I wasout, I taught “media law and ethics” as an adjunct to undergraduates at a localuniversity.

Shortly after returning to practice I knew that it was timeto start making the move to academia.  Twoyears ago I started teaching legal writing at Villanova University Law School,which was another serendipitous but very worthwhile experience. In that time I learned a lot about legaleducation, law schools as institutions, law students, and teaching. I was also able to publish an article and putmyself on the market. Viewed ex ante, the article I wrote was not themost predictable path to success, either, because I took a pass on the receivedwisdom that an entry-level candidate should choose a topic and construct a thesisin order to maximize her placement possibilities. Instead I wrote about what was on my mind, whichwas standing in a certain class of discrimination suits.  Then, lo and behold, Drexel University decided to open a law school,right here in Philadelphia. I took myself off the market and therest is (very recent) history.   

For anyone unfamiliar with this recent history, which isprobably just about everyone reading this, or anyone curious about what it islike to start a new law at an established institution, I recommend a post onthe subject written by my colleague, Dan Filler, at Concurring Opinions.  The crux: “this is entrepreneurship, onsomeone else’s dime.  Anything ispossible.”