Northwestern University Law - MSL

Northwestern Law: Master of Science in Law (MSL)

Strategic choices for advancing innovation and commercializing technology in today’s global business environment are more complex than ever. Much of that complexity centers around the evolution of technology within existing legal and regulatory structures. This is especially true in science, engineering, and medicine—fields that drive important parts of the U.S. and global economies. Professionals in these fields increasingly find themselves interacting with a complex intellectual property scheme and a myriad of legal and regulatory structures and institutions as they are called upon to drive innovation, move products through regulatory approval, and engage in entrepreneurial activities.

To address the complex global intellectual property, legal, and regulatory environment facing these technologically oriented professionals and entrepreneurs, Northwestern Law School is creating a new Master of Science in Law (MSL) degree, designed to provide focused business-centered legal training for students with backgrounds in engineering, science, and medicine. The skills acquired by these MSL-trained professionals will allow them to communicate and interact across disciplines and professions, understand the wider ranging implications of what they do, recognize obstacles and risks, and visualize opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. The MSL can be completed in nine months of full-time study or 18¬¬-24 months of part-time study.

The program’s curriculum will consist of courses designed especially for MSL students. It will include a core of basic classes in law and regulation—subjects covered will include contract law and design; liability, risk, and insurance; business associations and tax; negotiations; alternative dispute resolution; writing, communication, financial and presentation skills; and regulation and legislation. Building upon the core will be an array of specialized elective classes and experiential activities in three interrelated areas: patent and intellectual property design; law and entrepreneurship; and regulatory strategy and standard-setting.