New Global Law Leadership Initiative at NSU Shepard Broad Law Center Prepares Lawyers for the Business of Law

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Feb 16, 2015, 12:37 ET

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla., Feb. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) Shepard Broad Law Center will begin a unique immersion curriculum beginning with the August 2015 entering class that is designed to develop the technological, financial, and global economic competencies that are essential to the modern practice of law. The new elective curriculum – the Global Law Leadership Initiative --incorporates an international perspective and minority empowerment perspective.

The ultimate goal of the Global Law Leadership Initiative is to help students acquire a foundation in doctrine, theory and legal analysis needed in today's modern practice of law. They will develop fundamental skills in business, leadership, technology, and client engagement that will make them more attractive to prospective employers and better prepared to add value to their firms and clients upon graduation.

While the curriculum is particularly geared toward students who have no prior work experience in corporate settings, aspiring lawyers with prior work history can also benefit from each class. The immersive summer semester includes courses such as Business Operations for Lawyers, Strategic Business Planning for Lawyers, and a Law Practice Business and Technology Workshop. Thereafter, as students progress through the Global Law Leadership Initiative, they will participate in courses which focus on areas of business planning, international law, intellectual property, and technology law. These areas are essential not only to practicing law today, but to becoming a prepared professional for the 21st century. The program is designed to support students and lawyers working in both litigation and transactional settings.

"This new curriculum represents a transformation in the law school curriculum," said Jon M. Garon, Dean of the Law Center. "Graduates from this program will enter the workforce prepared to address the needs of their clients and the economics shaping legal services."

Garon said the program is similar to one he initiated at Northern Kentucky University known as the Lunsford Academy. "This and the Lunsford Academy are the only such programs in the U.S.," he said, "Ours is the only program that incorporates an international perspective and minority empowerment perspective, while Northern Kentucky's program has a technology flavor."

In addition to taking the program's immersive summer semester which includes courses in leadership and finance, participating students will have the opportunity to engage in semester-in-practice field placements and study abroad programs to emphasize their hands-on experience and international exposure. Students will also be able to seek joint degrees. NSU Law Center partners with the NSU Huizenga School of Business for a JD/MBA law and business, the NSU Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences for a JD/MS in law and computer information systems, the NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine for a JD/DO in law and medicine, among many others.

"Today's law students come from a wide range of backgrounds, and they are expected to enter the practice of law with knowledge of the law, experience with clients, and a sophisticated understanding of legal services. This program will give them all those tools," added Dean Garon.

About the Shepard Broad Law Center: Nova Southeastern University's Law Center offers a rigorous traditional academic program in three-year day and four-year evening versions, as well as dual-degree programs. Additionally, NSU Law offers three online Master of Science degrees in law in the areas of education, employment, and health. NSU Law prides itself on preparing graduates to make a smooth transition from the classroom to the courtroom or boardroom. Lawyering Skills and Values (LSV)-Every student completes a four-semester LSV sequence that combines traditional legal reasoning, writing, and research with an introduction to lawyer interviewing, counseling, negotiating, mediating, advocating, and other critical skills in a simulated law firm experience. For more information please visit http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/

About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 314 beautiful acres in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, NSU is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at all levels. NSU is an independent, not-for-profit institution with approximately 26,000 students at campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach and Tampa, Florida as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico. NSU awards associate's, bachelor's, master's, specialist, doctoral and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. NSU is classified as a research university with "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and it is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie's Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu. Celebrating more than 50 years of academic excellence!