In 2016, with more than thirty years of practice as a labor and employment law partner at O’Melveny & Myers, I received a call from GW Law’s Dean of Academic Affairs asking if he could visit my New York City office. When we met over coffee, he told me that GW Law was preparing to launch a “classroom” in New York City for second and third-year law students who would take classes taught by experienced practitioners, at New York City law firms, in a legal market that offered endless opportunities for field placements and for students to connect with the business and finance law community. What a unique opportunity, I thought. After more than three decades of practicing, I was intrigued by the thought of taking some time away from the workday to teach students. I did not have to travel far, I was told, as the classroom would be at O’Melveny’s office, where I was then the Managing Partner. I also knew that through my professional network, I could easily find speakers for my class and mentors for our students.
GWNY became a reality in Spring 2017, where we offered five in-person classes at New York City law firms: Corporate Restructuring taught by Paul Basta, a senior partner at Paul Weis; Securities Regulation, taught by Anna Pinedo, a senior partner who was then practicing at Morrison Foerster; Banking Law taught by Wendy Goldberg, a senior banking lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell; Business Lawyering, taught by Professor of Law Larry Cunningham, who was also the faculty advisor of the program; and Legal Drafting with a corporate and transactional law focus taught by me at O’Melveny.
The program was a great success that first semester, with the added benefit of helping our students find employment opportunities. Since 2017, GWNY has welcomed an annual Spring semester class. Our adjunct faculty has remained largely the same, thanks to the interest and commitment of busy practitioners who enjoy teaching our students. The number of GW Law students interested in the program has grown each year as interest in a semester in New York City spread in the law school.
One of the many attractions of this program is the requirement that each GWNY student find an opportunity for a Field Placement during their semester in New York City. Students not only learn from experienced practitioners in the classroom but they also grow professionally through the internship experience. Despite some initial trepidation for students applying to the program, it has been remarkable how all of our students can secure interesting internships. We have also seen many organizations welcome working with our students, including industry organizations, like FINRA and SIFMA; government agencies like the SEC and the CFTC; the New Jersey Bureau of Securities; the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn District Attorneys’ offices; organizations like Lawyers’ Alliance and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts; judicial externships with justices who handle business law disputes in the Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court’s Commercial Division; and internships in the SDNY and EDNY bankruptcy courts.
The GWNY program also offers bi-weekly workshops – additional programs where GWNY students have opportunities to engage with alumni and friends to learn more about networking, interviewing skills, associate life in law firms, careers as General and Corporate Counsel, and focused programs on practices like Capital Markets, Bankruptcy, and M&A. GWNY also offers opportunities to attend receptions and other events connecting our New York area alumni and the business community with our students.
And with GW Law's vast alumni network in New York, why not create a mentoring program and other opportunities for our students to network? With more than 2,000 GW Law alumni in the New York City area, we see growing engagement and support from our alumni community. We now have dozens of mentors supporting students. Even as lawyers are incredibly busy, they find the time to assist our students, and our students appreciate the opportunity to meet them.
An important part of our GWNY program is working with our students to create additional opportunities for them – in some cases to build their networks for post-graduation job opportunities. Some of our GWNY students arrive in New York with opportunities already lined up. Some are looking to make connections that create future placement opportunities, whether for the summer, after law school, or in the early years after they graduate. The relationships that are built through GWNY do not end as a semester in New York City draws to a close. There are success stories we learn from our students who obtain jobs through connections they make through GWNY. We have found over the years that our former GWNY students engage with future GWNY classes as advisors, mentors, and speakers – sharing tips with each incoming class.
Success breeds more success. In 2022, the law school faculty approved the expansion of GWNY to include both Fall and Spring semesters – doubling the size each year of students who benefit from this program. We welcomed a large class of GWNY students in the Spring of 2023 and two months later began promoting a Fall semester program, which was a successful inaugural first Fall class. As we turn the page to a new year, 2024, we recently welcomed 18 new students in early January.
None of this would have been possible without the builders of GWNY, from Dean Blake Morant who secured faculty approval for the original program, to faculty members like Larry Cunningham and Roger Fairfax who hired our faculty and secured faculty support, and faculty members who have supported GWNY over the years. When Larry Cunningham retired in 2022, Professor Jeff Manns became the Faculty Director of GWNY. Professor Manns works tirelessly promoting the program in DC for future classes of students, hiring and supporting our GWNY faculty, and handling the moving parts of each program.
I have taught in GWNY as a member of the Adjunct Faculty from 2017 to Spring 2023, and now teach as a full-time Professor of Practice in Business and Finance Law. I have heard from former students who relate how the experience of learning and engaging with experienced practitioners helped them adjust to the practice of law post-graduation. Each class offers students the opportunity to engage with faculty and speakers who bring a practical approach to teaching and working through issues. Students work very hard in this program, and there is an adjustment to the teaching style and approach of practitioner-lead classes, but you can see the personal growth of our students as they engage with experienced lawyers and the vast legal community of New York City.
Learn more about what the GW Law in New York program has to offer.
