One of the biggest request I receive and continue to receive from law students, across the globe, is how persons interested in becoming a fashion lawyer, like myself, can obtain a degree in fashion law. So, you can imagine how truly thrilled I am to see my fashion law colleague Susan Scafidi continue her trailblazing ways, by launching the world’s first ever fashion law degrees through Fordham Law School and the Fashion Law Institute. This really exciting and history making news is even sweeter because it has the support of The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).
Bravo Susan Scafidi and the Fordham team! Thanks Diane von Furstenberg for your continued support of not only the fashion industry but the fashion law movement.
Ladybrillers, check out all the details about the program below, spread the word and if you are interested in a Fashion Law degree, enroll!
Cheers,
Ms. Uduak
The Details About the First Academic Degrees in Fashion Law
Fordham Law School, the Fashion Law Institute, and CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg are delighted to announce the launch of the world’s first academic degrees in fashion law.
Less than a decade ago at Fordham Law School, Professor Susan Scafidi created the first course in “Fashion Law,” defining the field. In 2010, with the support of the CFDA, the Fashion Law Institute was established. Today, fashion law is no longer a new trend but an integral part of the business of fashion.
Starting this fall, attorneys and non-lawyers alike will have an unprecedented opportunity to pursue master’s degrees in fashion law. These groundbreaking new programs mark the next step in the Fashion Law Institute’s mission to support the global fashion industry through innovative legal education.
For those who already have a general law degree, Fordham will offer a Master of Laws, or LL.M., in Fashion Law. The LL.M. will give lawyers an in-depth understanding of the law and business of fashion and, for the first time, access to unique courses taught by fashion industry insiders, including classes in fashion financing, fashion modeling law, fashion licensing, and sustainability.
But fashion law isn’t just for lawyers. Helping designers, executives, and other fashion industry professionals understand how law affects the business of fashion is also central to the Fashion Law Institute’s mission. The new Master of Studies in Law, or M.S.L., at Fordham will offer a specialization in Fashion Law to educate those who need to know more about the law but do not aspire to become lawyers. Through the Fashion Law Bootcamp summer intensive program, now in its 5th year, the Fashion law Institute pioneered the concept of offering legal education to members of the fashion community alongside practicing attorneys and students. The M.S.L. degree is the next phase in the evolution of fashion law education.
“Ignorance of the law is no defense,” Professor Scafidi notes, “but for too long law schools have left everyone but lawyers ignorant of all but the most basic legal rules.” By opening the doors of law school to anyone in fashion, the Fashion Law Institute aims not only to prepare graduates to launch their own lines or to pursue career opportunities in such areas as licensing, corporate compliance, human resources, supply chain management, marketing, and international trade, but also to provide a model for the future of legal education itself.
Applications are now open for both the M.S.L. and LL.M. programs. To accommodate as many people as possible from different professional backgrounds, these programs are available on a part-time as well as a full-time basis. Students can matriculate in either the fall or spring semester and can complete the program within two semesters if attending full time.
Legal literacy in the highly regulated fashion industry is not a luxury but a necessity, and now neither lawyers nor fashion industry professionals have to learn the law on their own.
Fordham Law & The Fashion Law Institute’s Fashion Law Degrees
- LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Fashion Law – for lawyers; law.fordham.edu/llm
- M.S.L. (Master of Studies in Law) in Fashion Law – for current and aspiring designers,executives, entrepreneurs, and other fashion industry professionals; law.fordham.edu/msl DURATION: 1 year full time; part-time option also availableSPECIALIZED COURSES (offered in addition to an introduction to U.S. law for those who do not already hold U.S. law degrees, along with other courses from throughout the curriculum):
- Fashion Law
- Fashion Law & Finance
- Fashion Ethics, Sustainability, & Development
- Fashion Licensing
- Fashion Modeling Law
- Fashion Law Practicum
- Fashion Retail Law
Dedicated Faculty
- Professor Susan Scafidi, Founder & Academic Director, Fashion Law Institute atFordham Law School
- Ewa Abrams, Vice President – Associate General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer,Tiffany & Co.
- Angela Byun, Senior Director of Business Affairs and International Licensing, CondéNast
- Ali Grace Marquart, Marquart & Small; former Deputy General Counsel and Director,Business & Legal Affairs, Wilhelmina International, Ltd.
- Stanley G. Sherwood, Managing Partner, Sherwood Associates; former International TaxCounsel, Kering
- Doreen Small, Marquart & Small; former Vice President and General Counsel, FordModels, Inc.
- Brien Wassner, Partner, Jones Day
- Jeff Trexler, Attorney & Associate Director, Fashion Law Institute
Courtesy photos.
Ms. Uduak is best known as an advocate who uses the tools of media and the law to help creatives and businesses clearly articulate their true brand identities, and communicate it to the world through their products and services, to maximize profits. She is a lawyer, speaker, author, journalist, and recognized thought leader, and trailblazer for her work on Africa’s emerging global fashion and entertainment markets, and the niche practice of fashion law in the United States. She is also the founder and publisher of Ladybrille® Magazine, and an Attorney and Partner at Ebitu Law Group, P.C, where her practice focuses on Fashion, Business, & Entertainment Law and Trials. For more information about her, visit www.msuduak.com.
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