Michael T. Cahill, former co-dean at Rutgers Law School and a prominent criminal law scholar, has been named Brooklyn Law School’s next president and Joseph Crea dean. He will begin his leadership role on July 1 and also will serve as a tenured professor of law. Cahill previously was a faculty member at Brooklyn Law School for 13 years, and he served as vice dean from 2013 to 2015 and as associate dean for academic affairs from 2010 to 2013.
“We are very excited to welcome Michael to lead our great Law School,” said Stuart Subotnick ’68, chair of the Board of Trustees. “His wealth of experience in legal academia, his deep knowledge of the Law School, and his vision to advance the school’s academic excellence while maintaining financial strength made him the clear choice among a field of exceptionally strong candidates.”
“I am honored and grateful to have received the support of the board, faculty, and administration,” said Cahill, “and I am determined to make good on the investment this school has made in me.
I greatly look forward to working with the board and faculty to ensure that Brooklyn Law School’s profile and reputation reflect its true value, and that its future will respond to a dynamic legal landscape while respecting its proud history.”
Cahill received a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, and J.D. (magna cum laude) and master in public policy degrees from the University of Michigan. After graduating from law school, where he was a note editor for the Michigan Law Review, Cahill served as a law clerk to Hon. James B. Loken of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He was then involved as staff director and consultant, respectively, for major criminal-code reform projects in the states of Illinois and Kentucky. Before joining the Brooklyn Law School faculty in 2003, he taught at Chicago-Kent College of Law as a visiting assistant professor. He was appointed Rutgers Law School co-dean in 2016.
Cahill was chosen following an extensive national search with outreach to almost a thousand potential candidates. The Dean Search Committee conducted 10 first-round interviews with candidates and invited four outstanding finalists to campus for full days of interviews and presentations in late November and early December 2018.
Look for more about the Law School’s new dean in the fall issue of Brooklyn Law Notes.