Welcome to Jack Ayer

For the next week or so, Credit Slips is privileged to be joined by Jack Ayer, Professor of Law Emeritus, at the University of California-Davis. The "or so" part is because we're pretty informal about that sort of stuff. We're currently taking bets on how long it takes Ayer to realize he has made a terrible mistake by associating with the likes of us. The over/under is seven days.

When I first became a law professor, I attended a conference where Ayer presented a paper entitled "Through Chapter 11 with Gun or Camera, But Probably Not Both: A Field Guide" (available at 72 Washington University Law Quarterly 883 (1994)). The author's footnote includes the following: "This paper was made possible in part by a grant from the Dean's summer research fund at UC-Davis. It was made impossible in part by my own failings of intellect and character, with generous support from the doctrine of original sin." It gets better from there. Ayer's presentation and paper remain vivid in my memory for their conciseness, clarity, and lively style. For a new law professor trying to learn his craft, Ayer provided a great example. Anyone who believes that legal scholarship needs to be dry and boring should read Ayer's work.

I'm sure we'll be treated to more of the same over the coming days. For a preview, check out Ayer's eclectic and always entertaining blog, Underbelly: A Journal of Soft Information.