The Academy of Arts and Sciences: Law

I was interested to see which Chicago Law people were members. I don't know if the AAS is anything more than a bunch of hoity-toity people rewarding other hoity-toity people, but "they" say it's prestigious. Here are the Chicago guys (and yes, they are all guys):

Baird
Currie
Dam
Easterbrook
Epstein
Helmholz
Levmore
Meltzer
Mikva
Posner
Stone
Strauss
Sunstein

Note that Nussbaum is also a member, but in philosophy. And you could throw some of the econ-law guys in there if you really wanted (ahem, Coase). I won't count these people.

13 in all. I count 163 members total. That means 1/12 of all members are at Chicago, which I think is pretty good. Plus, Scalia, McConnell, and Bork all have close ties. They would put us at 1/10th.

Now, of course, the discussion must devolve into a competition, or else it wouldn't be interesting. Compare our numbers to, say, Northwestern (1 member), and we look real good. Yet, Harvard and Yale beat us, so now we don't look so good. We might suck even. But Virginia has 2, so now we look fantastic. But NYU has 9, which is too close for comfort. But Stanford has 5, which is like one less than we have on our 4th floor. But Columbia has 14. Conclusion: We need more! My nominees:

Fischel (really should be on there already, based upon what Ben tells me)
Landes (I think he's omitted on a technicality - not a lawyer)
Hamburger (wrote famous book that changed an area of con law. Perhaps one more book needed?)
Hutchinson (seems like he knows all, and Helmholz made it as a legal historian, so why not?)
MacKinnon (only because she's famous, I don't know if she's any good)
Picker (wrote important parts of the UCC)
E. Posner (up-and-comer. Watch out!)
Sykes (I hear he's impressive. Can't help him much more than that. Ben?)
Alschuler (I guess he's important in crim law)

I think this is a good list of people who aren't so young that they have more promise than accomplishment, and yet aren't so old that their opportunity has passed them by. Ok, Landes is a little old. But the rest are right there. Whoever is in charge of whatever, make this happen.

Does all this have a little air of braggadocio to it? Rest easy, friend.

First of all, I am assuming my entire audience is Chicago people. This is because only Chicago people read this site. I think that fact puts me on pretty firm ground re: my first assumption.

Second, I am not a member. Ben can't become a member because of his extensive criminal record. Tom already turned down their offer - the sumo code places him above such pleasantries.

And last, never forget that all of us at the law school might be compensating for something.