I've never really understood why law professors' offices are so shoddy and nasty. One prof of mine has these two rickety old ripped-up fabric chairs for guests. What is the story dude? You dress well. Your house is nice. What's with the dorm-room aesthetic at work?

And it's not just him. Law professors seem to like to stuff their shelves with as many books as possible, so that all their files & such can get stacked on the floor, combined with furniture that was apparently left over from when they last redecorated the school in 1964.

I can understand why an associate professor might not want to get committed to an office space. But once you get tenure, isn't that the moment you might want to put together some funds to redecorate? I mean, I'd negotiate for that as part of my signing package. First, new paint and carpeting. Then an Aeron chair, a couple flat-panel monitors, new guest chairs, stereo speakers. Fresh flowers weekly?

But, that's just me. Call me crazy, but I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my career in something that looked like a storeroom at the DMV.

22 Feb 06