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Two new specializations will be added to the NYU School of Law's Master program this fall. Environmental law and international business regulation, litigation and arbitration will join the seven existing specializations.
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Meera de Mel, NYU Law director of global initiatives, said the new specializations, created primarily because of high interest from students and law firms, would collaborate with the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Stern School of Business. However, they will not be joint degrees like some other J.D. programs.
"It's always a careful balance of strengths, especially with these law degrees," de Mel said. "You want to make sure that the programs you are putting together are rigorous enough in your core legal training that prepares a student to do legal things. But at the same time, all of these fields are very inherently disciplinary."
De Mel said the school's recent fall in U.S. News and World Report's law rankings from five to six did not play a role in the decision to create the new specializations.
"They don't really factor in anything we do on the LL.M side," de Mel said. "It's very specific formula that only looks at key aspects of the [Juris Doctor] experience."
Many law schools offer graduate degrees in environmental law, but few universities provide Master-level specializations. British institutions like the University of London, University of Kent and University of Dundee have a strong hold over the concentration.
"We thought the time was right," environmental law professor Richard Stewart said. "One of the attractions for graduate students, especially those that reach academic careers, is the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on research projects. We have an extremely strong faculty in environmental law."
Jeremy Friedman, manager of sustainable initiatives at NYU, said the environmental law program was another example of NYU's commitment to sustainability.
"The academic and operational missions of the university are intrinsically intertwined," he said. "By understanding the physical campus as a 'living laboratory' for our ideas and best practices about sustainability, we can truly transform NYU into an environmental leader."
But Stewart said a link between the environmental law specialization and the school initiative hasn't been developed yet.
About 10 students are expected to enroll in the program, which is three to five times smaller than corporation law. About 300 students are on the Master of Law track at the university.
"I'm optimistic the numbers will increase as the program moves along," Stewart said.
The law school added its international business regulation, litigation and arbitration program for its global appeal.
Jose Alvarez, an international law professor, said many of his students from abroad study international economic law and pair it with another specialization.
"Developing a specialty to their interests made a lot of sense," he said. "It's no longer enough to be a good lawyer. There are increasing numbers of treaties now that establish rules, that foreign investors have certain rights."
De Mel was excited to see the two specializations take off and hear reactions from students.
"We really try to be on the cutting edge of whatever it means to train a global lawyer," she said. "If you think about international business and environment, those are your big, huge topics. You need to be smart in those areas."
