Intellectual
Property and
Information
Technology Law

Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law at Fordham Law

Technology has fundamentally changed the world in which today’s law students will launch their careers, and the legal profession has changed along with it. To be ready, lawyers need to solve challenges and problems with new tools and apply established law in innovative ways. They may even find themselves practicing in areas that didn’t exist when they first arrived on campus. Tom Norton, executive director of Fordham’s Center on Law and Information Policy, says, “The rapid development of technology constantly pushes the limits of existing legal frameworks. There’s a persistent, urgent need to craft law and policy that accommodates technological advancement while ensuring a free and fair society.”

Fordham students will be up for the challenge, with courses on Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence as well as hands-on opportunities to code “smart” contracts, a skill that is a strong lure for employers, especially in New York’s financial-services industry.

At the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, second-, third-, and fourth-year students work under a licensed attorney faculty member, giving free advice to early-stage start-ups, many of which are focused on social justice issues like helping the formerly incarcerated find work. But tomorrow’s attorneys will need to do more than just help entrepreneurs; they’ll also need to consider themselves entrepreneurs, according to Bernice Grant, senior director of the Entrepreneurial Law Program and founding director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. That might mean thinking more strategically about what they can offer prospective employers, or exploring new practice areas like emerging growth companies. Professor Grant says, “Law students who adopt an entrepreneurial mind-set will not only be better equipped to provide efficient and effective legal services for their clients. They’ll also become future leaders of the legal profession.”