Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School Partner To Launch Innovative Master of Laws (LLM) Degree

Leading edge program to prepare lawyers to address unique challenges of the digital economy, entrepreneurial culture and new digital products and services

NEW YORK – Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School today announced the launch of a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, which will be offered at Cornell Tech’s innovative New York City campus. The one-year, full-time LLM degree is designed to provide practicing attorneys and recent law graduates with the specialized skills needed to support and lead technology companies in the increasingly complex and dynamic digital economy. The first students are expected to enroll in 2016.

“The digital economy has raised huge societal, policy and legal questions that traditional law programs simply aren’t designed to address,” said Cornell Tech Dean Dan Huttenlocher. “This groundbreaking LLM program is the first of its kind to give lawyers the tools to be entrepreneurial thinkers, supporting technology startups, product development and the fast-paced growth that is driving the economy. And for Cornell Tech, the introduction of legal scholars and students to our ecosystem of technical students, MBAs and researchers will enrich the learning environment for everyone as we prepare our students for real world success.”

“The rapid pace of innovation driving the technology sector today requires a new generation of lawyers with expertise in law, technology, and entrepreneurship,” said Cornell Law Dean Eduardo Peñalver. “The goal of the LLM will be to educate this new generation with the cutting-edge lawyering skills and the business acumen necessary to become first-class attorneys working at the forefront of an entrepreneurial economy. With virtually every modern company relying on technology and the law to further its business model, Cornell is the only university that offers an integrated program designed to equip talented lawyers with the tools for entrepreneurial success. The Law School looks forward to educating a new class of pioneering legal leaders.”

The LLM program will be an integral part of the new academic model at Cornell Tech, where education and research are tied closely to creating and growing companies and products. All LLM students will participate in the studio curriculum in which cross-program teams of students develop new products and services in response to challenges posed by companies, and then as part of developing startup ideas. In this context, LLM students will be exposed to the real world challenges that relate to entrepreneurship, early-stage enterprise, and established businesses in the technology sector. They will develop expertise in the evolving regulatory environment around the digital economy, as well as structuring deals and agreements that are vital for the necessary risk-taking in the sector.

By combining an interest in law’s relationship to technology and entrepreneurship, and the creation of innovative and integrated teaching, the new program is expected to benefit a wide spectrum of practitioners and students. It is designed to synergize the legal principles and practical business applications that relate to entrepreneurship, early-stage enterprise, and established businesses in the technology sector.

LLM classes will be taught at Cornell Tech’s temporary Chelsea campus through mid–2017, after which the program will move to its new home in the Bloomberg Center on the Roosevelt Island campus.

About Cornell Tech

Cornell Tech develops pioneering leaders and technologies for the digital age. Cornell Tech brings together faculty, business leaders, tech entrepreneurs, and students in a catalytic environment to produce visionary results grounded in significant needs that will reinvent the way we live in the digital age. Cornell Tech’s temporary campus has been up and running at Google’s Chelsea building since 2012, with a growing world-class faculty, and about 150 master’s and Ph.D. students who collaborate extensively with tech-oriented companies and organizations and pursue their own start-ups. Construction is underway on Cornell Tech’s campus on Roosevelt Island, with a first phase due to open in 2017. When fully completed, the campus will include 2 million square feet of state-of- the-art buildings, over 2 acres of open space, and will be home to more than 2,000 graduate students and hundreds of faculty and staff.

About Cornell Law School

Cornell Law School is a school that combines cutting-edge legal scholarship, inspiring teaching, and a close-knit, intellectually rich environment. For the past two years, it has been rated the most diverse top law school in the country. The Law School has consistently ranked among the top 10 law schools nationwide in large job placement. Students come from over 107 different undergraduate institutions, 29 states, and 10 foreign countries.