Bich is not a lawyer and only has a business background. Yet he is opening an alternate route for law grads to hire in with corporations who themselves are taking this option to avoid the high fees of working with law practices. For instance, Bic itself just hired such an in-house layer straight out of law school.
“The legal job market has been impacted in a very significant way,” said the dean of Catholic University’s law school, Veryl Miles. “Many business enterprises have decreased their reliance on outside counsel for legal services and brought more of their legal needs in-house, resulting in more opportunities in this area of practice. Educating students for the unique aspects of this practice will give them a leg up in this job market.”
Dean Paul Schiff Berman of George Washing University Law School is setting up similar courses for the 2013 fall semester, and it may become a new Law School standard.