GW Law students interested in business law practice have the unparalleled opportunity to gain substantive hands-on experience while pursuing a domestic off-campus study in the world’s top financial center – New York City. This innovative and unique program creates educational opportunities, linked to student professional goals, in an environment that draws on and deepens GW’s alumni relationships.
The GWNY program is offered during the spring semester to second and third-year GW Law students. Each program participant is required to enroll in a business law oriented 2, 3, or 4-credit externship, a 2-credit co-requisite course, Business Lawyering (LAW 6810), and business law electives taught by leading experts with their fingers on the pulse of the financial markets. GWNY course offerings are curated to mirror ever-evolving market demands and innovation. Past electives have included Banking Law (LAW 6289), Corporate Restructuring (LAW 6263), Securities Law Seminar (LAW 6264), and Legal Drafting (LAW 6652).
All GWNY classes, as well as monthly networking events, are held at the offices of participating law firms including Kramer Levin, Sullivan & Cromwell, O’Melveny & Myers, Morrison Foerster, Paul Weiss, and Kirkland & Ellis. Library privileges are available to GWNY students at Columbia University and New York University as well as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. While each student is responsible for securing housing arrangements, the program maintains an active partnership with the 92nd Street Y, a non-profit institution offering affordable accommodations to students on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
GWNY students may obtain field placements at a wide array of organizations offering business-centric externship opportunities to law students. Examples: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Settlement Housing Fund, Lawyers Alliance, New York State Commercial Courts, and U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Courts.
Thanks to the program, GWNY alumni from our first few small classes have secured permanent positions at the following firms in New York: Cooley; Davis Polk; Kirkland & Ellis; Kramer Levin; Mayer Brown; O’Melveny (2 alums); Paul Weiss; and Shulte Roth. GWNY facilitated the placements of its alumni with the Brooklyn DA's office; Ernst & Young; the Federal Reserve Board; and with Jun He LLP, China's most prestigious law firm. Some GWNY students already had dream jobs when they began GWNY and we're equally delighted for them to be working at the following places: Alston & Bird; Arent Fox; K&L Gates; Mound Cotton; and The Manor Group.
Externships must be business law-oriented, and otherwise in conformity with GW Law’s externships program policies, including organizational eligibility requirements, i.e., 501(c), government, or judicial. All externships must first be approved by the Field Placement Program, and all eligibility determinations are final.
Lawrence A. Cunningham is an authority on corporate governance, corporate culture, and corporate law, and teaches business-related courses that span these fields. He has written dozens of books and scores of articles on a wide range of subjects in law and business. These include the leading textbook on accounting used in law schools, a popular narrative on contracts, and best-selling books on Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett (The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America and Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values). His extensive work has been published in top university reviews such as Columbia Law Review, influential professional journals such as Directors & Boards, and mainstream media such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
