The Role of Legal Uncertainty, Risk, Institutional Size, and Mission in Presidential Selection: Is the Trend to Lawyer-Presidents an Unmitigated Good?

Authors

• Nora V. Demleitner

Abstract

This Article builds on Patricia Salkin’s May It Please the Campus which documents the extent to which legally trained persons have led U.S. institutions of higher education since colonial times. It explains the perennial attraction of lawyer-presidents despite substantial changes in legal training, in the professional formation of attorneys, and the transformation of higher education, especially with the rise of the modern research university, governmental investment, and heightened regulation of colleges and universities. Governing boards are increasingly attracted to the skills ascribed to lawyers and their personal characteristics, including the common law appreciation for slow change. This Article highlights how lawyer-presidents can uniquely guard against legal risk at smaller institutions without an in-house legal department by creating a strong compliance culture. It questions whether heightened federal and state regulatory oversight and accelerated legal changes, with a heavy focus on labor market readiness, may limit institutional diversity, driving colleges to a more uniform middle ground. Whether lawyer-presidents are the right choice to navigate financial challenges to higher education and increased and often burden some legal demands while protecting their institution’s distinctive mission remains to be seen.

Recommended Citation

Demleitner, Nora V. (2026) "The Role of Legal Uncertainty, Risk, Institutional Size, and Mission in Presidential Selection: Is the Trend to Lawyer-Presidents an Unmitigated Good?," Touro Law Review: Vol. 41: No. 2, Article 8.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview/vol41/iss2/8