Power
Law professors are masters of a small universe. As grade-givers, the fates of dozens of would-be lawyers depend on them. Your
If you're an aspiring law professor He-Men or She-Ra, you can gain extra power by becoming a legal authority on a particular subject, like Prof. Laurence Tribe is in constitutional law. Granted, he's held his own multiple times during arguments before the United States Supreme Court and even gone toe-to-toe with Justice Antonin Scalia, but becoming a legal authority is indeed possible.
Lawyers are always on the lookout for creative arguments and legal interpretations, which makes the published work of law professors of practical and influential importance.