Juris master program now offering online option

Wendy Wright 16L is a self-proclaimed politics junkie. As far as she’s concerned, she’s always been interested in how government works and how the decisions our leaders make affect the regular folks. A well-educated woman (she holds an MD and is an associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery), she thought she had a good grasp on public policy and its application to law in medicine. But the more she read, the more she realized that there was only so much she could teach herself.

“I wondered if the law school would allow me to take a class or two, so I turned to the Internet.” That’s where she came upon the initial call for applications to Emory Law’s juris master (JM) program, an opportunity for non-lawyers to receive a formal legal education. The program is designed to help professionals interested in gaining a better foundation in law and regulation to advance their careers and to help students whose primary degree would be enhanced by an integrated study of law.

She enrolled in the inaugural JM class in the fall of 2012 and took one class per semester, occasionally two, balancing her law school curriculum with her duties as chief of neurology and medical director of the neuroscience intensive care unit at Emory University Hospital Midtown. Of the JM degree, Wright says, “Certainly, the expanded knowledge contributes to the content of my teaching, but I feel like the Emory Law professors have taught me how to listen more intently and how to approach questions from a variety of perspectives. The courses made me a better writer and taught me how to use legal resources so that I can keep learning well into the future.”

Opening the door to the JM

Now, Emory Law is making this expanded learning opportunity available to other professionals. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the JM degree will be available in an online study format for two of its concentrations: healthcare law, policy, and regu- lation; and business law and regulation. Registration started January 16 for fall semester 2017 enrollment.

The JM program is a 30-credit hour degree that provides professionals the legal knowledge and skills to navigate increasingly complex regulatory environments, assess organizational risk, make informed decisions, and contribute in more significant ways to their organizations. The on-campus program of study, which offers a wide range of concentrations, can be completed full-time in nine months or part-time in up to four years. The new online program of study can be completed in 18 months and includes three weekend sessions on campus in a classroom setting. Scholarships and financial aid are available.

“In our highly regulated society, there is an ever-increasing need for legal education,” says Dean Robert Schapiro. “Professionals today must adjust to rapidly changing law and regulation, privacy, data protection requirements, and related legal issues. Offering our juris master online will make a top-tier legal education more accessible to an entirely new group of professionals.”

The healthcare law, policy, and regulation concentration will offer foundational training in health compliance and associated regulation, health privacy requirements, torts and contracts, and health policy. The concentration in business law and regulation will help students develop a base of knowledge in corporate governance and compliance, criminal and civil liability for corporations, the changing regulatory landscape for business, the legal framework of the deal-making process, and transactional due diligence, among other topics.

Emory Law will also offer an online format for the healthcare and business concentrations of its master of laws (LLM) program, with enrollment for spring 2018. The online format of the LLM will be designed for individuals who have earned a juris doctor degree at a US-based institution and are seeking professional and scholarly advancement in the areas of healthcare or transactional practice.