Following up on my previous posts (links below):  David Lat (Original Jurisdiction; J.D. 1999, Yale), In Defense Of Yale Law Dean Heather Gerken:

Here's why NOT to drop the dean.

Ask and you shall receive. Ahead of the big faculty meeting tomorrow to discuss giving Heather Gerken another five-year term as dean of Yale Law School, I made a request of my readers: I asked to hear from defenders of Dean Gerken and the YLS administration more generally. And I definitely did hear from them.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my request. I will now share what I learned, in an effort to balance out the critical coverage in these pages. I’ll start off by sharing the new facts that I learned, and then I’ll turn to the opinions. …

The faculty will meet tomorrow to discuss renewing Dean Gerken, but the timing of an actual vote is unclear; it might happen tomorrow, or it might happen at a later meeting. After the faculty vote, then Yale President Peter Salovey must approve the recommendation—typically a formality, but perhaps a more searching and substantive review this time. [UPDATE (10:27 a.m.): There is actually no formal vote of the faculty. Instead, the Dean Review Advisory Committee [Douglas Kysar (Chair), Anne Alstott, Fiona Doherty, Fiona Doherty, Justin Driver, Paul Gewirtz, Claire Priest, James J. Silk, Taisu Zhang] makes a recommendation, which they then discuss with the faculty at meetings like the one tomorrow—but there is no formal, up-or-down, roll-call vote.]

So we might not know the outcome for a while. If we don’t hear anything immediately, it doesn’t mean Gerken’s reappointment is in jeopardy; as I’ve previously predicted, I expect her to be renewed.

Looking ahead, things will presumably settle down at Yale Law School at some point. But YLS isn’t the only law school grappling with these issues; we have seen controversies elsewhere. If you’re aware of threats to free speech at any other law school, whether those threats come from the right or the left, please reach out to me.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Ruth Marcus (Washington Post), At Yale Law School, a Party Invitation Ignites a Firestorm (Oct. 15, 2021)
• Kathleen Parker (Washington Post), Yale Law School Triggers Me (Oct. 16, 2021)
• David Lat (Original Jurisdiction; J.D. 1999, Yale), Yale Law Student Who Sent 'Trap House' Email Faces Removal As 2L Rep (Oct. 18, 2021)
• Andrew Koppelman (Northwestern), Yale Law School’s Bullying, Coercive Diversity Leaders (Oct. 19, 2021)
• Yale Daily News, Racism, Conservatism And Free Speech At Yale Law School (Oct. 20, 2021)
• Eugene Volokh (UCLA), Lawyers, Law Students, Law School Administrators, And Language (Oct. 22, 2021)
• The Atlantic, A Worrisome Peek Inside Yale Law’s Diversity Bureaucracy (Oct. 23, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon, Backlash Against Media Coverage Of The Yale Law School 'Trap House' Email (Oct. 25, 2021)
• Trent Colbert (Yale 2L), Why I Didn’t Apologize For That Yale Law School Email: 'We Must End The Culture Of Performative Repentance' (Oct. 26, 2021)
• Peter Berkowitz (J.D. 1990, Yale; Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution), An Open Letter To Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken (Nov. 1, 2021)
• David Lat (Original Jurisdiction; J.D. 1999, Yale), The Newest Insanity Out Of Yale Law School (Nov. 4, 2021)
• Simon Lazarus (J.D. 1967, Yale), Where Yale Law School Has Gone Off The Rails, And What Is Needed To Get Back On Track (Nov. 13, 2021)
• David Lat, Yale Law School And The Federalist Society: Caught In A Bad Romance? (Nov. 15, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon, Yale's Akhil Amar Calls Law School Administration's Handling Of 'Trap House' Email Controversy 'Dishonest, Duplicitous, And Downright Deplorable' (Nov. 16, 2021)
• David Lat (Original Jurisdiction; J.D. 1999, Yale) & Eugene Volokh (UCLA), More On The Two Yale Law School Controversies (Nov. 17, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon, Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken Admits Error, Stops Short Of Apologizing To Targeted Students; Law Prof Calls For Conservative Yale 1Ls To Transfer (Nov. 18, 2021)
• Andrew Koppelman (Northwestern), More On The Yale And UIC Law School Controversies (Nov. 29, 2021)
• Simon Lazarus (J.D. 1967, Yale), A Second Open Letter: 'A Take On Where Things Stand' (Dec. 2, 2021)
• David Lat (Original Jurisdiction; J.D. 1999, Yale), Yale Law Faculty Meets Amidst Multiple Scandals And Controversies (Dec. 4, 2021)