Ira Robbins (American), Still Here: Reflections After Fifty Years of Teaching Law, 75 Am. U. L. Rev. 1 (2025).

After half a century as a law professor, is it time for me to retire? Not
if I can help it.

I know that may sound stubborn—maybe even delusional—but I still
love what I do. I love the classroom, the students, the puzzles, the stories.
I even love the challenge of turning the nuances of the Model Penal
Code—or the intricacies of habeas corpus—into something that
resembles an authentic conversation.

I’m not here to give a retirement speech, and I have no plans to do so.
What follows is neither a manifesto nor a eulogy. It’s just one professor’s
long, winding look back—at the people who shaped me, the lessons I
learned (often the hard way), and the moments that made me laugh, cry,
and stick around for fifty years.

. . . When I finally stepped into the role of professor, I knew only what I didn’t want to be. I had spent enough time watching what didn’t work. I modeled myself against what I had found least effective. It
took me several years to find my own voice. But I knew early on what to
avoid.