2026 James Kent Summer Academy

Faculty Division

  

The Federalist Society’s James Kent Summer Academy is a program for law students and recent graduates who demonstrate strong potential for leadership among a future generation of legal scholars. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in academic discourse, to update their professional headshot, to learn about an academic career track, to deepen their understanding of key ideas about the law, (originalism, the administrative state, and markets and the law), and to receive personalized career planning and publishing guidance. 

The Academy will take place August 5-8, 2026 in Annapolis, MD. The Federalist Society will cover costs related to travel, accommodations, and most meals. Attendees are responsible for their own dinner on Thursday, August 6th. The conference will include seminar-style sessions guided by a group of leading faculty as well as informational sessions and workshops for professional development. Participants will also receive invitations to future events and academic and professional development resources. The seminars will include lecture syle sessions on constitutional law (led by Randy Barnett, Georgetown), corporate law (led by Robert Miller, Scalia), tax (led by Miranda Perry Fleischer, San Diego), and empirical legal studies (led by Michael Heise, Cornell). The information sessions and workshops prepare attendees for the academic market and equip them with the skills necessary to present a thesis (led by Patrick Barry, Michigan and Dean Daniel Kelly, St. Thomas). We will also have sessions on paper topics, and the publication process.

This program is intended for students and recent graduates (three years or fewer out of law school), including prospective or current clerks. Applicants should have a serious interest in an academic career, should have the ability to contribute to the intellectual diversity of the legal academy, should be beginning to develop their legal scholarship, and should possess strong academic qualifications.

Applications should be submitted no later than April 30, 2026.

 

If you have any questions about this event, please email Rory Smist at rory.smist@fed-soc.org.