https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/20182024-03-13T16:35:53.947Z2018Adobe Experience ManagerVillanova Law Clinical Program Honored with Saint Thomas More Society of Philadelphia Award noemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="textimage parbase noalign nostyle"> <div class="image " id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1210/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: ;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1210/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1617809712206.jpg" alt="Villanova Law Clinical Program received the St. Thomas More Award." title="Saint Thomas More Award 2018" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>The Saint Thomas More Society of Philadelphia has presented their annual Saint Thomas More Award to the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Clinical Program.</p> <p>The Saint Thomas More Award is presented by the Society annually to a member of the legal profession whose accomplishments represent the principles and ideals of Saint Thomas More. An attorney, public servant, jurist, scholar and teacher, More combined his concern for the problems in his time with a personal moral commitment to his conscience.</p> <p>Villanova Law’s Clinical Program provides hands-on legal experience for students in six in-house clinics—Clinic for Law and Entrepreneurship; the&nbsp;Federal Tax Clinic;&nbsp;Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic;&nbsp;Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrants Services (CARES);&nbsp;Interdisciplinary Mental and Physical Health Law Clinic.</p> <p>Clinic students earn credit while representing real clients with critical legal issues under the direct supervision of full-time faculty members. As primary advocates for their clients, students interview and counsel, negotiate agreements, structure deals, draft legal documents and appear in court. Clinic students develop the legal and professional skills to become effective attorneys all while serving the community and changing lives.</p> <p>A few highlights of the work the Clinic Program does are:</p> <ul> <li>Each year approximately 100 students participate in a clinic, helping approximately 200 clients per year.<br> <br> </li> <li><a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/0327.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>Melisa Buchowiec ’18 and Omeed Firouzi ’18</a>, students in the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services, gained hands-on client experience and won asylum for a deserving client.<br> <br> </li> <li><a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2017/1208.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>David Hollander ’18 and Reece Cooke ’18</a> worked with&nbsp;Sanctuary Farm, an innovative nonprofit start-up that is working to develop community farm spaces that serve as venues to engage Philadelphia’s homeless and housing-unstable population with work, food and social services.<br> <br> </li> <li><a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2017/1019.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>Patrick McGinnis ’18 and Dana Sleeper ’18</a> contributed vital legal research for a recent report examining whether non-English speakers receive interpretation assistance during their hearings in select Pennsylvania courts.&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>The Saint Thomas More Society of Philadelphia seeks to promote and foster high ethical principles in the legal profession generally and, in particular, in the community of Catholic lawyers; it provides a Catholic voice on issues of relevance to judges, lawyers, public officials, and law students; and, above all, the Society encourages its members to apply the following ideals exemplified by Saint Thomas More in both their personal and professional lives.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="clear"></div> <script src="https://www1.villanova.edu/etc/designs/villanova/clientlibs/textimage.min.js"></script> </div>Vanessa Huber ’20 and Scott Zlotnick ’19 Win 59th Annual Theodore L. Reimel ’24 CLAS Moot Court Competitionnoemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="textimage parbase noalign nostyle"> <div class="image " id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1206/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: ;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1206/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1544128246780.jpg" alt="Vanessa Huber &amp; Scott Zlotnick win the Reimel Moot Court Competition." title="Reimel Winners 2018" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>As an unexpected pre-winter snowstorm blew in on November 15, Villanova Law students on the Moot Court Board were faced with a decision—whether to go ahead with the Finals of the 59<sup>th</sup> Annual Theodore L. Reimel ’24 CLAS Moot Court Competition or attempt to reschedule for a later date. Named in honor of the late Theodore L. Reimel, Judge for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas from 1953 to 1973, the competition is designed to foster student development in written and oral advocacy through simulated appellate argument.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Finals are a highlight of the academic year, in which four student finalists argue a case before a panel of real judges and an audience of family and friends in the Martin G. McGuinn ’67 Ceremonial Courtroom at the Law School. Over the course of three rounds of argument held over two weeks, volunteer judges, practicing attorneys and faculty members had whittled the initial eight teams down to just two:&nbsp; Rodrigo Rivera '20 and Kaylyn Wernitznig ’20 versus Vanessa Huber ’20 and Scott Zlotnick '19.</p> <p>The weather, however, was not cooperating.&nbsp; Snow and ice made roads treacherous and travel nearly impossible. It was unclear whether the judges, who were coming from New Jersey, Philadelphia and Delaware, could make it to Villanova safely and on time. With Thanksgiving and final exams right around the corner, dates for rescheduling were limited. The Board was also concerned for the competitors, who had just spent weeks preparing for the case and in preliminary rounds, and were prepped and ready to go.</p> <p>In consultation with their faculty adviser, Professor Jessica Webb, the Board decided it had no choice but to postpone the final round and hold it the following day with faculty judges. With Professor Webb’s assistance, they sprang into action and called the scheduled judges to inform them. Three faculty members—Doris Brogan, Andrew Lund, and Todd Aagaard—quickly volunteered to fill out the bench for the next day. The students were thrilled that the Finals were able to go forward.</p> <p>On Friday, November 16, the final round of the Competition was held as the teams vigorously argued their positions on two difficult issues involving securities fraud and class action lawsuits. Ultimately <b>Scott Zlotnick ‘19 </b>and<b> Vanessa Huber ‘20 </b>emerged victorious and were awarded the John J. Duffy ’62 Advocacy Cup. The winner's cup is named in honor of Mr. Duffy, a widely recognized and accomplished criminal trial lawyer in Pennsylvania.</p> <p>Additionally, Zlotnick received the Best Oralist award. Colin Rizzo ’20, Allison White ’20, Jacqueline Noyes ’20 and Heather Smillie ’20 took home the Best Brief award.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Meaghan Lane ’18 Takes Legal Writing Skills to the Next Levelnoemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1204/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1204/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1638214016307.jpg" alt="Meaghan Lane" title="" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>At Villanova Law, students find creative ways to combine their passions with their legal education. Meaghan Lane ’18 coupled her interest in sports management with a spring 2018 externship to propel her into the world of athletics and sports compliance.</p> <p>Lane, a former writer and editor for Villanova Law’s Sports Law Society blog, took several sports law classes while at Villanova and landed a unique position as a Compliance Extern at University of Pennsylvania Athletics. The externship afforded her the opportunity to experience how compliance systems function at a university with both strong academics and athletics.</p> <p>Faced with the challenge of interpreting complicated NCAA rules, Lane applied her legal background, in particular her legal writing skills, to engage in creative problem solving. Whether it was summarizing bylaws, or putting together a rules education presentation for coaches, she found that the writing skills honed at Villanova Law allowed her to write for a variety of audiences.</p> <p>“I applied the skills I learned in my transactional writing class to this position, and also found that many of the concepts we learned in business-focused classes were helpful, despite the nontraditional nature of my externship,” Lane said. “Working in teams and collaborating to develop solutions to problems were skills I used every day in the Compliance Office at Penn.”</p> <p>In addition, Villanova Law helped her form a foundation of business knowledge important for college athletics. “At the end of the day, college athletics is a business, and compliance, ensuring teams and coaching staff are following the rules, is an important part of its success at both the micro and macro levels,” Lane said.</p> <p>Lane is now an Associate at Drinker Biddle &amp; Reath LLP’s Philadelphia office. Read more about externship opportunities <a href="/content/university/law/experience/clinics-externships/externships.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>here</a>, and the Legal Writing program <a href="/content/university/law/academics/legal-writing.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>here</a>.</p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>The Villanova Law Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation Works Internationally to Combat Human Traffickingnoemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1203/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 150px;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1203/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1543871213857.jpg" alt="Shea Rhodes" title="shea rhodes ghana" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> <small>Shea Rhodes meets with girls from the Center for Achievement.</small> </div> <p>Human trafficking and sexual exploitation are forms of gender-based violence that affect millions of women and girls worldwide each year. Villanova Law’s Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE Institute) works to fight this international problem by educating and providing technical assistance to policy makers, law enforcement officials and others who respond to commercial sexual exploitation in Pennsylvania, as well as throughout the United States and beyond.</p> <p>In October, CSE Institute Director Shea Rhodes ’97 travelled to Ghana to participate in the <a href="http://www.globalwomenx.org/"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>Global Women’s Business Exchange Conference</a>. Organized by the U.S.-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Rhodes joined business and professional women from all over the world to exchange and leverage their experiences in the fields of healthcare, finance, law, business and education.</p> <p>Presenting on “Trauma Informed Legal Counsel for Victims of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation,” Rhodes equipped attendees with the skills and knowledge to provide legal support for victims of commercial sexual exploitation in their home countries. The workshop focused on trauma-informed lawyering and the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration with social services when working with victims and survivors of sex trafficking.</p> <p>“No matter the location, the root causes of commercial sexual exploitation are universal and almost always include poverty and the subordination of women,” Rhodes said of the “life changing” trip.</p> <p>While in Ghana, she also had the opportunity to meet with the young women and girls from&nbsp;the <a href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcenterforachievement.org%2Fabout%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7Ckiera.daly%40villanova.edu%7Ce7eec52805274ce899a208d6404759ea%7C765a8de5cf9444f09cafae5bf8cfa366%7C0%7C0%7C636767072524442898&amp;sdata=ebV8creGS8aJMVG4%2F4Eor2UROIVtRgeaUqUsBhqnkjg%3D&amp;reserved=0"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>Center for&nbsp;Achievement</a>, an organization that supports young people in Ghana to find their passion, voice and confidence. “Engaging with the young women and trying to empower them was the best part of the trip,” said Rhodes. “They are amazing, kind, resilient young women.”</p> <p>Other notable CSE Institute work includes participating in the drafting and negotiation regarding legislation which would provide “safe harbor” from arrest and prosecution for sexually exploited children in Pennsylvania. The bill was passed by both chambers of the Pennsylvania legislature and was signed into law by Governor Wolf on October 24, 2018. The Institute also assisted advocates in Nebraska in passing legislation in 2016 that provides victims of sex trafficking with immunity from arrest and prosecution for prostitution. In April 2017, the CSE Institute published&nbsp;<a href="http://cseinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/National-Demand-Analysis-and-Model-Legislation.pdf"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>model legislation</a>&nbsp;in conjunction with a National Analysis of Demand Legislation.</p> <p>For more information on the CSE Institute, visit its&nbsp;<a href="https://cseinstitute.org/"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>website</a>&nbsp;or view its most recent <a href="https://cseinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018-report-final-B-2.pdf"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>annual report</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Professor Ellen Wertheimer Elected Member of the American Law Institute noemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1116/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 200px;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1116/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1703177392283.jpg" alt="Professor Ellen Wertheimer elected member of the American Law Institute." title="Ellen Wertheimer" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>Villanova Law Professor <a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/academics/faculty/Facultyprofiles/EllenWertheimer.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>Ellen Wertheimer</a>, an expert on products liability and tort law, has been nominated and elected as a new member of the <a href="https://www.ali.org/"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>American Law Institute</a> (ALI), the leading independent organization in the United States that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize and improve the law.</p> <p>The Institute’s mission is to “promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to encourage and carry on scholarly and scientific legal work.” Being named a member is a prestigious designation, and Wertheimer now joins a group of distinguished individuals, including prominent judges, lawyers, and law professors, who bring perspectives, talent, wisdom and dedication from a variety of legal concentrations to the important work of the Institute.</p> <p>“This is a wonderful accomplishment, reflecting Ellen’s exemplary career as a teacher-scholar dedicated to the development of the law,” said Mark C. Alexander, The Arthur J. Kania Dean of Charles Widger School of Law.</p> <p>Along with fellow academics, judges and practitioners, Wertheimer has served on an advisory group for ALI for several years in the drafting process for the Third Restatement of Torts:&nbsp; Intentional Torts to Persons. ALI is working to distill the general principles of torts into different subject matters within torts, such as injuries to persons, injury to property, product liability and more, so they can serve a guiding function to the courts. &nbsp;</p> <p>“I am thrilled to be nominated and I am looking forward to getting more involved with ALI,” said Wertheimer. “This is an outstanding organization to be a part of, and I see it as a source of service to the legal profession.”</p> <p>Professor Wertheimer received her undergraduate degree from Yale College, where she graduated summa cum laude, and her law degree from Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Following graduation, she was a law clerk to the Honorable Frank A. Kaufman, United States District Judge, United States District Court for the District of Maryland; and then to the Honorable James Hunter III, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She also worked as an associate with the law firm of Pepper, Hamilton &amp; Scheetz between her two clerkships.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>A Legal Mind Takes on the Challenge of Medical Information Sharingnoemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1113/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1113/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1542145824544.jpg" alt="Image of the cover of the book, &#34;Governing Medical Knowledge Commons&#34;" title="Photo is property of Cambridge University Press" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>At Villanova Law, our faculty often pursue interdisciplinary academic projects that integrate law with other fields. A prime example is Brett Frischmann, The Charles Widger Endowed University Professor in Law, Business and Economics. He is co-authoring a series of books on knowledge commons and recently published his second book in the series, <i>Governing Medical Knowledge Commons</i>.</p> <p>The term “knowledge commons” refers to community sharing of information, data and other types of intellectual and cultural resources, and the governance or management of this information. Examples of knowledge commons range from scientific data to Wikipedia. Knowledge in the digital form has limitless possibilities, but also requires policymaking around innovation, creative production, and intellectual property.</p> <p>Along with his co-authors Katherine J. Strandburg, Alfred B. Engelberg Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and Michael J. Madison, Faculty Director of the Innovative Practice Institute and Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Frischmann’s latest book looks at how knowledge commons involving medical information can support successful and effective innovation in the medical and health fields. He makes the case that the field of medicine is rich with opportunities for knowledge commons, such as research consortiums for rare medical diseases.</p> <p>In <i>Governing Medical Knowledge Commons</i>, Frischmann and his co-authors used a framework inspired by Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom’s groundbreaking analytical and interdisciplinary social science framework on natural resource commons. The book features 15 case studies in which researchers, medical professionals and patients share innovations, information and knowledge resources in order to make progress in the field.</p> <p>“Medicine is an area where there’s lots of data and there’s lots of knowledge,” said Frischmann. “Right now, all around the world, everyone is trying to figure out how to pool medical data so that you can do and share research in a number of areas.”</p> <p>One issue that arises is privacy. He explains, “Medical knowledge commons often rely heavily on patient data, and that means you have to deal with privacy. Developing trusted systems for collecting, curating and managing pools of patient data requires institutions, or as lawyers often like to say, governance.”</p> <p>Frischmann recognizes that it is not every day that a legal professional takes on sophisticated social scientific research. “It’s different for lawyers to be doing this,” he says. “But lawyers are basically institutional engineers. We learn how to write laws and build contracts, creating the legal structures that help people collaborate and solve problems. It makes sense that law professors are interested in knowledge commons, but the methodology is not our normal research practice. There’s a lot of demand for learning lessons in this area.”</p> <p>Long-term, he hopes to continue applying this framework to more case studies and begin meta-analysis that will identify patterns that transcend fields and categories and generate new overall design principles for knowledge commons.</p> <p>This fall, Frischmann hosted a conference at Villanova Law on knowledge commons. “Governing Privacy in Knowledge Commons” brought together renowned scholars from around the country to offer free-flowing discussion and to ignite new ideas and proposals for this 21<sup>st</sup> century challenge. The conference will eventually culminate in published final papers in a book by Cambridge University Press.</p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>At Villanova Law, our faculty often pursue interdisciplinary academic projects that integrate law with other fields. A prime example is Brett Frischmann, The Charles Widger Endowed University Professor in Law, Business and Economics. He is co-authoring a series of books on knowledge commons and recently published his second book in the series, Governing Medical Knowledge Commons.59th Annual Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competitionnoemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="text parbase"> <p>This year's final round of the&nbsp;<b>5th Annual Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition</b>&nbsp;is set for&nbsp;<b>November 15, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.</b>&nbsp;in the Martin G. McGuinn '67 Ceremonial Courtroom at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law.</p> <p>The Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition is an annual intra-school tournament and a hallowed tradition at Villanova Law. Named in honor of the late Theodore L. Reimel, Judge for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas from 1953 to 1973, the competition is designed to foster student development in written and oral advocacy through simulated appellate argument.</p> <p>This year's judges who will preside over the final round are:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Honorable Collins J. Seitz, Jr. '83</b><br> Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware</p> <p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Honorable Barry T. Albin</b><br> Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey</p> <p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Honorable Cheryl Ann Krause</b><br> Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit<br> &nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> </div>Putting Policy into Practice noemail@noemail.orgkdaly06<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1017/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1017/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1539801963564.jpg" alt="Law students working together in a classroom " title="Putting Policy Into Practice_10.15.18" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>There’s a saying that practice makes perfect. At Villanova Law, students have the opportunity to perfect their legal skills through innovative coursework and hands-on experience. Now, a new insurance law course, Advanced Insurance Law: Coverage Disputes, provides students with a simulation experience that closely mirrors the work they will encounter as associate attorneys at law firms.</p> <p>Taught for the first time during the spring 2018 semester, the course was co-developed and co-taught by <a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/academics/faculty/Facultyprofiles/ChaimSaiman.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>Chaim Saiman</a>, Professor of Law, and Villanova Law alum and Adjunct Professor Samuel Arena, Jr. ’83, Chair, Fidelity &amp; Surety Practice at Stradley Ronon. It features an original teaching approach that brings together multiple practice areas including insurance law, contracts, torts, civil procedure, legal writing, civil pre-trial and professional responsibility in order to replicate the lifecycle of a complex insurance coverage dispute. These types of disputes are commonly litigated by major law firms who represent national insurance companies.</p> <p>“Coverage Disputes is a capstone course that transitions students from law school to practice,” said Saiman. “We took a practice-based approach in creating this course so students can learn the skills needed to practice this type of law. We’re breaking students out of the doctrinal silos in which law is typically taught and are preparing them for the realities of multi-disciplinary practice.”</p> <p>Through workplace simulation and roleplay, students in the course assume the positions of counsel for the policyholder and/or insurance carrier, as they work through the lifecycle of an insurance coverage dispute. They draft and submit their work for review by their professors acting in the role of senior partners. Students also present, defend and receive feedback on their coverage analyses in “office” meetings with the senior partners. This mimics work at a typical firm, while at the same time hones their writing and professional development skills.</p> <p>“The incredible feedback on each class assignment from Professors Saiman and Arena made me a more confident writer and helped me better understand the expectations of an assigning partner,” said former Coverage Disputes student Cliff Breese ’18. “The pedagogical approach—emphasizing practical lawyering skills throughout the curriculum—sparked my interest in insurance law.”</p> <p>After only one semester, the course has already had an impact on helping students stand out from other candidates and secure job placements, like Breese, who is now an associate at Reed Smith LLP’s Philadelphia office, working in their Insurance Recovery Group. Former students are using the memos produced during class as writing samples in interviews and to demonstrate their interest and knowledge of insurance law, prompting an on-the-spot job offer in one instance. Other students are using the course outline to assist them in their current associate positions.</p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Providing Invaluable Real-World Experiencenoemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="text parbase"> <p><br> When it comes to the law, nothing can replace the knowledge and skills gained through hands-on experience. That’s why Villanova Law offers a robust experiential learning program, which includes six clinics and <b>250+ externship opportunities</b> in <b>nonprofit</b>, <b>government</b> and <b>corporate</b> settings.</p> <p>Villanova Law’s comprehensive externship program offers students real work experience in placements that are tailored to individual career interests. Externships expand beyond the Philadelphia region and across all areas of law so students can focus on where and what they most want to learn.</p> <p>Our credit-earning externships are rigorously supervised, semester-long learning opportunities. Students are paired with and meet regularly with a Villanova faculty adviser who has expertise in the area of placement. They also work under the guidance of an on-site field instructor, who works with the student and his/her adviser to meet personalized learning objectives.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="text_0 text parbase"> <h4 style="text-align: center;"><b>The Villanova Law Difference - Externships</b></h4> </div>Where Law Meets Businessnoemail@noemail.orgjtoth04<div class="image parbase"><!-- org.apache.sling.scripting.core.impl.helper.OnDemandReaderRequest@566446af /content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1013/jcr:content/pagecontent/image.img.jpg/1539372913765.jpg --> <div class="image middleimage"><img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/law/newsroom/webstories/2018/1013/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/image.img.jpg/1539372913765.jpg" alt="Where Law Meets Business" title="LAW2471617_tail_PSU_FNL" class="cq-dd-image" ><br clear="all"> </div><div class="clear"></div></div> <div class="text parbase"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Today’s lawyers practice more than just law. They often serve their clients as business consultants, problem solvers and financial strategists. In turn, recruiters are looking for legal professionals who can read a financial statement as well as they can write an opening statement. That is exactly the kind of lawyer Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law is producing.</p> <p>Villanova Law is revolutionizing legal education by pushing the boundaries of traditional instruction and infusing vital business coursework into every student’s education. Whether you pursue corporate, criminal or public interest practice, Villanova will prepare you to become the kind of lawyer the market demands.</p> <p>“Firms and institutions want attorneys who can be ready for practice on day one,” says Mark C. Alexander, The Arthur J. Kania Dean. “Our efforts are designed to provide students with the skills they need for success at the start and throughout their careers.”</p> <p>Under the auspices of the <a href="http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/academics/CLEI.html"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>John F. Scarpa&nbsp;Center for Law, Entrepreneurship and Innovation</a>, Villanova Law implemented two learning modules that integrate business skills into the curriculum. The Joseph Del Raso Business and Financial Literacy for Lawyers course introduces students to the must-know business and financial principles that come into play in current legal practice. Students apply what they learn to real-life scenarios and get feedback from attorneys.</p> <p>In the Business Aspects of Law course, second-year students learn that law is not just a profession, it is a business. The sooner lawyers grasp the nuts and bolts of legal practice, from revenue generation to project management, the more likely they will be to succeed, make informed career choices and satisfy clients who put a premium on efficiency.</p> <p>“The program at Villanova hits the mark,” says Colleen Nihill ’01, chief operations officer at Morgan, Lewis &amp; Bockius LLP. “Now more than ever, students need to be prepared to understand the business of law so they can better serve their clients and launch a successful career path inside a law firm, whatever the size might be. I only wish they had had a program like this when I attended the Law School.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div>