I am delighted to be able to break the news to readers of "Adam
Smith, Esq." that SUNY/Stony Brook will be offering a first-of-its-kind Executive
MBA for Law Firm Leaders, with courses commencing this
coming April, 2006 for the first class of 25. What’s this about? Here’s
the premise, as articulated
by William Turner, Dean of the College
of Business:
"New York is the law firm capital of the United States.
Eighty four of the nations 100 largest law firms have offices in
New York City."As their work forces and revenues grow, law firms are revising the
way they run their businesses. Management structures are becoming
more centralized, specialized, and sophisticated. […]"There is a growing recognition that traditional management principles
may not always apply in a law firm setting. But until now, business
schools have not addressed the skills and organizational challenges
necessary for managers to be successful in this unique setting."
The Executive MBA program will be limited to an initial incoming
class of 25 students, each of whom must be sponsored by the law firm
they work for (which must also agree to pay the full tuition for
the program). It
consists of:
- 11 required "core" courses in areas such as leadership,
communications and organizational behavior, finance, human resources,
managerial economics, marketing, operations management, technology & innovation,
and strategy. - With additional coursework and terms-in-residence (in London)
permitting elective concentrations in business management, human
resources, marketing, or technology. - The program extends for the usual two full years of an MBA degree,
from April 2006 through March 2008. - Classes are held for four-hour periods on Friday afternoons and
Saturday mornings at SUNY/Stony Brook’s Manhattan facility on Park
Avenue South at 28th Street.
Some of the faculty include people you have decidedly heard of,
including:
- David Barnard, former managing partner of Linklaters North America
- J. Speed Carroll, formerly worldiwde managing partner of Cleary-Gottlieb
- Chris Conroy, director of finance at Simpson-Thacher for 21 years
- Gary Fiebert, executive director of Schulte Roth & Zabel
- Art Gurwitz, executive director of Proskauer (and formerly of
Sulivan & Cromwell) - Jim Lantonio, executive director of Milbank (and formerly at
Sidley-Austin and Covington & Burling) - and others of their caliber.
The Advisory
Board is equally distinguished (Rodgin Cohen of Sullivan & Cromwell),
M. Frederic (Rick) Evans of Debevoise, Mel Immergut of Milbank, Valerie
Jacob of Fried-Frank, Robert Link of Cadwalader, Daniel Neff of Wachtell,
Barry Ostrager of Simpson-Thacher, William Perlstein of Wilmer-Hale,
and Earle Yaffa of Skadden, just to name a few).
Why is this so exciting?
- It’s timely.
- It’s in the best possible (US) city for a ground-breaking program
such as this. - Whereas individual law firms have struck deals with business
schools before to offer truncated executive education programs
(Reed Smith with Wharton, DLA Piper with Harvard, as previously
noted here), this is the first time a business school has recognized
the need and formalized a law-firm-centric Executive MBA track.
And—saving my favorite for last—I am pleased, flattered,
and humbled to report that I have been asked, and have agreed
with alacrity, to teach the core course
in "Technology & Innovative Practices." Readers of "Adam Smith,
Esq." will, I promise, get regular updates as the program launches,
and as my participation evolves.
In the meantime, all you CIO’s and CTO’s out there: What do
you consider required reading for someone in your position? Let’s
start compiling the syllabus together.
