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Innovation and Entrepreneurship

 

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Albany Law School operates at the center of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Capital Region’s emerging Tech Valley. Through strategic partnerships with local area institutions of higher education, like the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the law school is strategically situated to offer students exciting opportunities to engage with startup business development in the areas of nanoscale technology, clean tech, biotech, and web-based initiatives. Students can take interdisciplinary classes with students and faculty from area schools, can engage with exciting internship opportunities in area firms and institutions active in the intellectual property field, and can partner with students and faculty from other institutions in business plan competitions.

Student Life

Named Among Top 20 Law Schools for Innovation

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Pathway starts at Orientation where new students can participate in special sessions introducing them to the Pathway and where they can meet faculty, peer, and alumni mentors. 

Academic Program

Students following the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Pathway are not required to choose a concentration, but the following concentrations align with this Pathway. Students can elect to concentrate in one of these areas or use the concentrations as a guideline for course selection in the areas in which they have an interest:

Experiential Opportunities

Course
Entrepreneurship Law in Emerging Technologies

In-House Clinic
Community Development Clinic

Apprenticeship
Innovation Intensive

Field Placements/ Summer & Semester in Practice

Albany law School has extensive connections with non-profit organizations and governmental agencies in the Capital District region that provide students with the opportunity to work and earn credit in their chosen fields. The following are some examples of relevant placements students have obtained with outside organizations and agencies:

  • Research Foundation of SUNY
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-Office of Technology Commercialization
  • Schmeiser, Olsen & Watts LLP
  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Strategic Partnerships

Relevant dual degrees are currently in place with the following local partners:

  • J.D./M.S. at Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College
  • J.D./M.S. in Bioethics at Union Graduate College; Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
  • J.D./M.B.A. at Union Graduate College
  • J.D./M.B.A. at The Sage Colleges
  • J.D./M.B.A. at Union Graduate College
  • J.D. / M.B.A. at University at Albany
  • J.D./M.S. in Bioethics at Union Graduate College; Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

The Law School is an integral part of the local entrepreneurship and innovation communities. The Government Law Center’s program on The Law of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Technologies provides supervision and opportunities for students to write and publish their writing in the Center’s Entrepreneurial White Paper Series, participate in Startup Law Day, and otherwise be involved with local institutions, both academic and commercial, that are focused on the Capital District’s startup community. The Center and the Law School have a number of formal linkages – such as the Accelerate518 program – and informal relationships with academic and non-academic institutions locally, allowing students to embed themselves in the local startup ecosystem. Students may also join in the regional and state Business Plan Competitions, of which the Government Law Center and the Law School are sponsors, and work with others to present ideas and move them forward to commercialization.

Career Opportunities and Placement

Career Planning provides professional development opportunities specific to each pathway. Students work with alumni mentors to network and explore career opportunities in the area of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Where do our Alumni go?

  • Coach, Inc.
  • Fox Sports Live at Fox Broadcasting Company
  • International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
  • New York State Chief Information Officer/Office of Technology (CIO/OFT)
  • New York State Executive Chamber
  • Office of Deputy Secretary for General Services and Technology
  • Office of Tech-Transfer at the College of Nanoscale Science and Technology
  • Research Foundation of SUNY
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Office of Intellectual Property
  • Technology Transfer and New Ventures
  • Schmeiser, Olsen & Watts, LLP