New York Law School Announces New Academic Center for Business and Financial Law

New center will continue NYLS tradition of integrating academic studies with skills training and experiential opportunities focusing on a key sector of the regional and global economy.

New York, NY (January 4, 2013)—Dean Anthony W. Crowell today announced the launch of the Center for Business and Financial Law (CBFL) at New York Law School, which will provide J.D. and LL.M students with an unparalleled integrated approach to academic study and skills training in all aspects of corporate, commercial, and financial services law.

Leveraging the Law School’s proximity to New York City’s financial district—and noted faculty in the areas of business transactions, corporate governance, and securities regulation—the CBFL will provide a rigorous and robust experience for students looking to combine professional interests in law and business.

The new center will consolidate aspects of two existing NYLS centers (Business Law & Policy and Financial Services Law) while adding additional faculty and resources to this area of focus. The new approach is expected to provide cutting-edge courses, projects, research, CLE programs, speakers’ forums, and other events that bring together academics, practitioners, government and industry leaders, alumni, and students to address the challenges that animate business and finance.

“As we continue to deliver on the fundamentals of a legal education, it is incumbent on us to also develop focused tracks to employment in traditional and non-traditional legal fields, especially in areas of high growth,” said Dean Crowell. “Even as our city’s economy diversifies, the financial sector will always be a major employer in New York and across the globe. Given our proximity to Wall Street and depth of expertise in the area, I’m confident this new program will be a competitive advantage for our students.”

The CBFL will have four full-time faculty members associated with the program and will launch several areas of focus including:

• Deal School focusing on transactional law education and skills development. Deal School’s mission is supported by New York Law School’s wide variety of courses that focus on transactional topics such as drafting, negotiation, the life-cycle of a business deal, and contract design.
• The Financial Services Law Institute focusing on the law and regulation of all aspects of the financial industry, including banks, broker-dealers, exchanges, asset managers, and investment funds. The Financial Services Law Institute is supported by NYLS’s unparalleled range of courses for LL.M and J.D. students covering all aspects of the financial services industry, and delivering a broad array of customized CLE and executive education programs.
• Project Start-Up focusing on the legal and business challenges facing new and small businesses in the tech sector and beyond. The program will educate students and support area businesses on issues related to forming, operating, advising, and raising capital for small businesses.
• The Corporate Values Project focusing on researching and developing policy frameworks that respect and support the inter-connectivity of business and society.
• The Compliance Working Group (CWG) focusing on promoting employment in the regulatory and compliance fields across a wide range of industries.

The Center for Business and Financial Law will be co-directed by Professors Tamara C. Belinfanti and Houman B. Shadab; and Professor Howard S. Meyers will be the Center’s Associate Director. Professor Ronald H. Filler will be the Director for the Financial Services Law Institute and will continue to be the Program Director for the Law School’s Graduate Program in Financial Services Law and will play an active role in the new center.

“There has never been a greater demand for business lawyers and legally-trained professionals with an integrated understanding of the different aspects of their field and related disciplines such as accounting and finance,” CBFL Co-director Houman Shadab said. “From the latest trends in structuring investment funds to the expanding role of technology in commercial agreements, the programs and activities of the Center for Business and Financial Law demonstrate New York Law School’s commitment to preparing its students for the most sophisticated and cutting-edge areas of practice.”

Ronald Filler, Director of the Financial Services Law Institute, added: “New York Law School offers more financial services law courses than any other law school in the world. It has an excellent history of educating many students who have an interest to practice law in this great industry. NYLS is clearly the law school of and for Wall Street. This new center will further strengthen NYLS’s courses and programs in this field.”

The Center for Business and Financial Law will open its doors immediately, undertaking a select number of projects, and will launch in full at the beginning of the 2013–2014 academic year.

About New York Law School
Founded in 1891, New York Law School is an independent law school located in lower Manhattan near the city’s centers of law, government, and finance. New York Law School’s renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School’s strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, labor and employment law, media and information law, tax law, real estate and urban legal studies, international law, financial services and regulation, and a number of interdisciplinary fields. New York Law School has more than 13,000 graduates and currently enrolls approximately 1,500 full-time and part-time students in its J.D. program and 95 students in its five advanced degree programs in American business law, financial services law, real estate, tax, and mental disability law studies. www.nyls.edu
 

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