Global law firm White & Case LLP has expanded its partnership with NYU Law by supporting the school’s Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship. Launched in May 2017, the Grunin Center is the first center of its kind at a leading law school, advancing a movement that creates new ways for law and lawyers to support positive change in the world.
“Inspiring the next generation of lawyers to use their expertise to improve society could not be more essential to the profession,” said White & Case chairman Hugh Verrier. “White & Case is proud to contribute to this increasingly important movement and is honored to partner with NYU Law and its future graduates in doing so.”
“White & Case’s support will enable the Grunin Center to expand its trailblazing work in promoting and studying social entrepreneurship and in educating new leaders in this emerging area,” said NYU Law Dean Trevor Morrison. “It will provide our students with greater opportunities to engage with the pioneering businesses and investors that seek to drive social change. We’re excited to develop our relationship with White & Case in a way that expands the Law School’s commitment to innovation and the public interest.”
An existing White & Case Summer Internship program at NYU Law gives students real-world experience in international law through summer placements at nonprofits and international organizations. Starting in the 2020-21 academic year, at least two White & Case Social Entrepreneurship Internships will be awarded to students who will spend the summer after their 1L years working with social entrepreneurs and impact investors.
The Grunin Center will also establish the White & Case Award in Social Entrepreneurship, which will recognize a student who has shown both academic excellence and a strong commitment to social entrepreneurship.
“White & Case’s support is groundbreaking, as it unlocks resources—human and financial—that will be deployed by the Grunin Center at NYU Law to advance the field of law and social enterprise in the United States and beyond,” said Deborah Burand, associate professor of clinical law and faculty co-director of the Grunin Center. “With this support, the Grunin Center is positioned to help equip the next generation of lawyers with legal skills and knowledge to navigate a world where business solutions increasingly are being brought to bear on some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental problems.”
Posted December 3, 2018