Summary: Law schools are shifting to emphasize business more.
With the high number of JDs looking for jobs, and the reluctance of law firms to hire them, having that cutting edge matters more than ever. So what is it? What can give law students an edge in the market? Well the firms are clear and vocal on this: money matters! Give us students who know business.
And so of course a few schools are leading the way, with New York Law School announcing they will offer business classes, and Harvard Business School offering business classes for Harvard Law students.
“Lawyers need to understand and use the tools and skills involved in growing and running a business,” said Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow in a statement on Harvard Business School’s website. “Law firms, businesses, and also public sector and nonprofit employers increasingly value these skills.”
What many grads are discovering is that knowing the first amendments is less important than understanding basic accounting and corporate finance.
We can expect law schools to offer more emphasis on the pragmatic matters of making money, the business aspect of things, and less, for better or worse, on such topics as environmental law or the philosophy of justice in general.