Law and Leadership in the Public Interest

Most leaders in the legal field are elevated to leadership roles because they are good lawyers and advocates, but few have much formal training in organizational management. Through readings, case studies, active discussion, in-class exercises and simulations, and guest lectures by leaders across a broad range of practice settings, this law-adjacent seminar explores what organizational leadership—and specifically, leadership that advances the public interest—entails. The goal is to better prepare students for what to expect working in legal organizations and to prepare them to be future leaders of them. Students will discuss what makes a good leader and how they can target and then work on the skills they most need to be effective. They will examine how leaders go about engaging in strategic planning, develop new projects or programs, have difficult conversations, make consequential decisions that affect a large number of people within an organization, and meaningfully advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additional topics may focus on the nonprofit advocacy space: how public interest organizations are funded; working with grants and donors, and fundraising more generally; and leadership structures and non-profit boards (and how to collaborate effectively with them).