In 2017, University of Nebraska College of Law Dean Richard Moberly embarked upon a journey to transform the law school experience for many students at Nebraska Law. It had long been the case that a big percentage of law school graduates pursued careers outside of the practice of law, whether immediately out of law school or as their careers progressed. Notwithstanding that reality, though, law schools across the country often referred to careers outside of the practice of law as "alternative" careers and left students interested in those careers feeling unsupported. Dean Moberly started an initiative to ensure that Nebraska Law was different, and he tasked Professor Adam Thimmesch with developing and directing a program that better prepared students to pursue careers outside of the traditional law firm route if they so choose and to work more efficiently with their business clients if they pursued a legal career. "Alternative" careers would just become careers, all Nebraska Law students would have the opportunity to better understand the numerous intersections between the law and business, and the Nebraska Law+Business program was born.

"Having the law school focus more broadly on the intersection of law and business just makes sense," according to Professor Thimmesch. "Every practicing lawyer needs to understand the business motivations and metrics of their clients, and the analytical skills that students develop in law school prepare them for a wide range of careers in and outside of traditional practice of law." Assistant Dean and Director of the Career Development Office, Tasha Everman, notes that graduates work in a wide variety of business positions, including those in banking, finance, real estate, and internal corporate positions of many different types. In addition, they sit in board rooms, run nonprofit organizations, and work as entrepreneurs. “We want students to develop the skills and awareness necessary to pursue their passions, regardless of whether they want to appear in the courtroom or the boardroom," Dean Moberly notes. To that end, the Nebraska Law program has three major points of emphasis.

First, the law school curriculum at Nebraska Law has evolved to better recognize the diversity of careers goals and interests of its students. Within the classroom, professors at the law school are encouraged to have students engage with class material from the perspective of their clients. Professor Thimmesch notes that it is important that students understand that learning and analyzing the law is not just about obtaining the best understanding of how to argue a particular point of law or determining how a court is likely to decide a particular case. Law students also need to realize that understanding the law is about identifying legal uncertainty, how that uncertainty translates into business risk for their clients, and that legal risk is almost always present and acceptable to some degree. I his tax class, for example, students are given questions that require them to quantify legal risk and to advise clients on the legal risks presented by different business proposals, rather than to just apply the tax laws to a particular fact pattern. "The classroom experience is much richer when we consider why we are being asked to analyze the law and to recognize that the real world does not lead itself to all-or-nothing legal analysis," Thimmesch says.

These efforts to diversify the classroom experience are aided by the addition of two faculty members within the business curriculum – each with different backgrounds. Professor James Tierney joined the College of Law in 2020 after practicing for five years with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as senior counsel in its Office of the General Counsel. His courses include Business Associations, Securities Regulation, and Corporate Finance. Professor Paul Weitzel joined Nebraska Law this fall after work experience in Silicon Valley and the Middle East, including working on the initial public offering of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, the largest initial public offering to date. Professor Weitzel teaches Business Associations, Nonprofit Organizations, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Corporate Compliance.

Nebraska Law also offers a course specifically designed to teach students about the business aspects of starting their own business ¬– a law firm. Professor Brett Stohs teaches that course and remarks that "for many students, this is the first opportunity for them to think about the business side of the practice of law." The course covers issues related to firm organization, technology in the practice of law, billing arrangements and other financial issues, marketing, and has students create a business plan.

Professor Stohs also serves as the Cline Williams Director of the Weibling Entrepreneurship Clinic at Nebraska Law. Students in the E-Clinic get an upfront look at the intersection of law and business by providing free advice and legal representation to start-up business clients throughout the State of Nebraska. Students in the E-Clinic handle a variety of early-stage legal matters, including entity formation, contract drafting and review, intellectual property protection, regulatory, compliance and other transactional legal matters. The E-Clinic, along with the law school's Business Planning course, offer students in the Law+Business space two capstone opportunities before graduation.

Another major aspect of the Nebraska Law+Business program is the extension of learning opportunities beyond the classroom. As program director, Thimmesch organizes a wide range of programming for students on law and business topics. That programming offers something for students with different levels of knowledge in the area, from those who need an introduction to the numerous intersections between law and business -to the student who wants greater knowledge on substantive business or legal issues that they will face in their careers. The Nebraska Law Career Development Office also hosts a wide range of speakers each year often in collaboration with Thimmesch. For example, corporate counsel from companies like Nelnet, Target Corporation, Aurora Coop, Troon Golf, and Wynn I Encore Las Vegas Resort have spoken to students about their career paths, the differences in in-house careers between companies, and how students can best pre­ pare themselves for career shifts in the future. In addition, Thimmesch's "Behind the Deal" series brings lawyers and the clients to the law school to talk about a particular transaction from both the legal and business perspectives. According to Assistant Dean Everman, "getting our students exposure to graduates who have successfully pursued a business career path helps our current student fully evaluate all their career options and how best to spend their three years at the law college."

The third major component of the Nebraska Law+Business program takes the in-class learning and out-of-class speaker series and leverages those into actual career opportunities for students. Law+Business program partners Nelnet, Buildertrend, Valmont Industries, Aurora Coop, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska offer students specially designed paid fellowships where students split their time between working on legal and business issues. 'We are especially grateful for our corporate partners in the Law+Business program." Dean Moberly explains, "It is incredibly valuable for students to get an opportunity to see exactly how a legal team works and engages with other groups in a corporate organization."

Since its inception, the Law+Business program grown each year, adding industry partners adding a student group dedicated to Law + Business interests, and increasing student interest and involvement in programming. "It is really fun to see students who would otherwise be disenchanted with law school reengage," Professor Thimmesch notes. "As law professors, we do this job because we love the law, but the law school experience needs to be designed intentionally to provide learning opportunities for students with different passions." The Law + Business program fills that role and provides a home for students who want to learn and think more deeply about the intersection of law and business.

Nebraska Law looks to continue growing and better serving students and the business community as well. This spring, Director Everman and Professor Thimmesch are working with human resources professionals in Lincoln and Omaha to pro­ vide a "Recruiting JDs Summit," which will provide information to local corporate recruiters on the pool of highly qualified candidates they may be overlooking. There are so many positions for which new law graduates are qualified. Our students are graduating with exceptional communication skills as well research, writing, problem-solving and negotiation skills. Dean Everman noted, "Many recruiting professionals don't realize the depth and variety of the transferable skills our graduates possess. Our goal with the summit is to raise the profile of our graduates within the business community and increase the number of opportunities that exist for those students who want to pursue careers outside of a traditional law firm setting." She also invites potential employers to reach out to her office at everman@unl.edu to discuss how best to connect with students.

If you are interested in this program and would like to be involved, there are several ways to do so. The law school has a long-standing mentor program and would welcome any professionals who are interested in working with students who might be interested in Law + Business careers. That program is run by Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and Event Planning Katie Pfannenstiel, who can be reached at kabp@unl.edu. Nebraska Law is also always looking for outside partners who would be interested in taking part in the fellowship program. Those with interest in doing so can contact Dean Moberly at moberly@unl.edu. Those interested in more information or other connections with the program can reach out to Professor Thimmesch at athimmesch2@unl.edu. And finally, if you have hiring needs and want to advertise to a talented pool of applicants, reach out to the Director of Career Development, Tasha Everman, at everman@unl.edu. Thimmesch notes, "At the end of the day, we all realize that law school and legal training opens many doors for our students, often in places that they least expect. The Nebraska Law+ Business program is intended to make students aware of, and comfortable with, those opportunities, to prepare them for success, and to facilitate employer introductions. There's nothing more rewarding in this job than to see a student able to pursue their passion and to use their talents and interests in a way that they enjoy."

This article was republished from The Nebraska Lawyer, the official publication of the Nebraska State Bar Association. Find more at nebar.com.