Rutgers Law School names co-dean for Camden location

Rutgers Law School has named a co-dean for its location in Camden, the university announced Monday.Michael T. Cahill is a noted criminal law scholar and experienced law school administrator, Rutgers said in a news release. Cahill will serve alongside Ronald Chen as co-deans, with Chen in residence at the Newark campus.

His appointment is effective July 1.

“Professor Cahill is an exceptional administrator and scholar, and an energetic visionary regarding the future of legal education in America,” Phoebe A. Haddon, chancellor of Rutgers University – Camden, said in a prepared statement. “He is the right leader to help establish and advance Rutgers Law School to its rightful place as a national center for legal education in New Jersey and across the nation.”

When the unification of Rutgers’ two legacy law schools was approved in July 2015, they became one Rutgers Law School with locations in Camden and Newark. Thus, Cahill will sit in residence in Camden, while Chen sits in residence in Newark. As co-deans, they will supervise the academic and administrative operations of the law school, Rutgers said, including about 1,100 students and 120 full-time faculty.

Cahill, 44, most recently has worked as a professor at Brooklyn Law School, including servicing as an associate dean for academic affairs from 2010 to 2013, and vice dean from 2013 to 2015.

“His scholarship in the area of criminal law is respected widely by legal scholars and practitioners alike, and his commitment to the success of law students — throughout their time in law school and then as they launch their careers — reflects our own institutional core value of student success,” Haddon said.

Cahill called Rutgers Law School “one of the most exciting opportunities in American legal education” in a statement.

“Its unification into a single institution will stimulate significant internal and external change, and reflects a commitment to dynamism, innovation and evolution,” he said. “Rutgers is blessed with a truly impressive faculty that has earned the respect of legal scholars and practitioners around the world, and its programs attract top-flight, dedicated students to study law in New Jersey. …

“Rutgers is an outstanding public law school, offering as strong a combination of quality and value as one can find, and I am committed to making sure that it continues to launch students into careers that will be rewarding for them and also rewarding for the society at large.”

Cahill, who grew up in Pompton Plains, is a 1999 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. He also holds a master of public policy degree from the University of Michigan, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. His scholarship focuses on substantive criminal law, Rutgers said.

“Michael Cahill’s multidimensional experience is precisely what Rutgers Law School needs in a co-dean,” Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers University – Newark, said in a statement. “His scholarship, practice, leadership in legal education and deep engagement with the impact of law in the lives of communities like Newark and Camden sharply reflect the strengths of our law school. Combined with the collaborative character of his experience in law school administration, he is ideally suited to partner with Newark co-Dean Ron Chen in leveraging those strengths.”

Cahill currently resides in Brooklyn with his family.