The Annual Conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing – in the US and Beyond took place on June 4 - 5, 2019 at NYU School of Law. Co-organized by the Impact Investing Legal Working Group (IILWG) and the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship, this annual conference brings together leading minds to explore new legal and policy developments in the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing and to discuss how lawyers and the law can most effectively serve social entrepreneurs and impact investors.
The conference was attended by over 400 participants from across the globe (including lawyers, academics, policymakers and other professionals working in the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing) for a series of panels, plenaries, discussions and workshops geared toward sharing knowledge and building a legal community of practice in these fields.
Program Themes
The 2019 conference focused on the following five themes, plus a track for People's Choice:
• Creating and Documenting “New” Impact Investment Products
• Embedding SDGs and ESG into Deals and Enterprises
• Blending Capital for Scale
• Engaging in Place-Based Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship
• Governing for Good – Taking a Longer-Term View
• People’s Choice (variety of topics reflecting conference participants’ suggestions)
Each theme was explored in three to five separate panels during the conference.
Program Organizers
Impact Investing Legal Working Group
The IILWG is a group of approximately 300 lawyers who work in the field of impact investing and represent a diverse array of organizations, including impact investors, social enterprises, law firms, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and academic institutions.
Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU Law
The Grunin Center was launched in May 2017 through the generous support of NYU School of Law graduates Jay Grunin ’67 and Linda Kalmanowitz Grunin ’67 and the Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation. The Grunin Center is advancing a global movement that creates new ways for law and lawyers to drive positive change in the world.
The mission of the Grunin Center is to enhance the community of lawyers and legal institutions engaged in social entrepreneurship and impact investing and to accelerate their effective participation in these fields. To fulfill this mission, the Grunin Center educates students and practicing lawyers about legal issues in the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing; disseminates knowledge and legal research about law and policy developments in these fields; and collaborates with other field-building organizations, universities, and research centers.
