IU Maurer School of Law, Chapman and Cutler law firm announce talent development program

  • Sept. 9, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Chapman and Cutler LLP and Indiana University Maurer School of Law have announced a program that enables IU undergraduates interested in finance and the law to gain comprehensive hands-on training and work experience, followed by admission to the law school and consideration for a full-time position at the firm following graduation. The program will initially be based in Chapman’s Chicago office.  

College graduates selected for Chapman’s two-year Finance Law Development Program will work side-by-side as practice development associates with attorney teams on substantive legal projects throughout the firm. The program will begin with a four-week boot camp led by Chapman attorneys, outside consultants, and IU law faculty and alumni who will introduce practice development associates to topics such as basic business organizations, financing structures, drafting skills, project management, applied legal technology and negotiations.

Practice development associates will also work closely with professionals on the firm’s Practice Innovations team, applying new technologies and project management principles to deliver better value to clients. Selected practice development associates will receive a competitive salary and benefits during the two-year rotational program, during which law school faculty or alumni will serve as mentors.

Qualified participants who complete the Finance Law Development Program will be eligible for designation as Chapman Law Fellows with the opportunity to apply to the IU Maurer School of Law. Chapman will offer the fellows assistance with their application and reimburse them for the cost of their LSAT review course. Upon admission, the law school will provide fellows who meet certain undergraduate GPA and LSAT benchmarks with a guaranteed scholarship (valued at $75,000 for nonresidents), as well as upper-division student, faculty and alumni mentors.

During law school, Chapman will further provide each fellow with an interest-free loan to apply toward housing expenses (forgiven if the fellow rejoins Chapman for a two-year minimum after law school graduation) and summer employment after their first and second years. Students who satisfactorily complete their law school education will be eligible for an offer to join Chapman upon graduation, with a stipend to pay for a bar preparation course.

Overall financial support for a student who completes the two-year rotational program and who is then selected and successfully completes the law fellowship may well exceed $200,000.

“Chapman and Cutler has created a simply outstanding and unique talent development program,” said Austen Parrish, Maurer School of Law dean and the James H. Rudy Professor of Law. “The program provides tremendous support for college graduates interested in law and finance. It will enable the firm to identify potential future successful attorneys, while preparing them for success in law school and beyond. I know of no other quite like it in the nation.”  

“We saw a need in today’s challenging job market to give potential law students the opportunity to learn first-hand about what a lawyer does and how a law firm functions before making the significant commitment to go law school,” said Tim Mohan, chief executive partner at Chapman and Cutler. “Successful completion of the program also means the opportunity to go to a first-rate law school with substantial financial assistance and a potential job waiting at a firm with people and a practice that they know well.”

“It was an easy decision to start this program with Indiana University,” added Bill Libit, Chapman’s chief operating partner. “The IU Maurer School of Law has demonstrated its commitment to graduating students who are well-prepared to practice law, and we have several successful graduates of the university’s undergraduate and law school programs who have continued that success at Chapman.”

“We are committed to making the program a hands-on experience working alongside our lawyers and other professionals across the full scope of our transactional and litigation practices,” said Kelley Bender, the Chapman partner who will run the program. “We also think that the opportunity to participate in the same type of training we provide our lawyers will be a unique advantage for practice development associates that ultimately decide to attend law school.”

“We’re privileged to be partnering with a firm at the very forefront of innovation that understands the importance of developing attorneys uniquely trained to meet their clients' needs,” Parrish added. “Through this partnership, the goal is to provide accomplished college graduates not only unparalleled training but a cost-effective pathway to law school and the legal profession.”

Chapman and Cutler LLP is a law firm with a national practice focused on the needs of its clients that participate in global financial markets. Chapman’s corporate finance and securities practice includes the representation of public investment funds, private equity funds and hedge funds and nearly all of the major commercial banks and insurance companies doing business in the United States in both transactional and litigation matters. Attorneys in the firm’s public finance practice represent clients participating in financings of infrastructure projects, sports stadiums, schools and universities, health care facilities, and utilities.

The program is focused on recruiting students at the IU Kelley School of Business and the School of Informatics and Computing and other pre-law or liberal arts and management programs within the university. Chapman will be interviewing on campus for this program on Monday, Oct. 5. Interested students can apply through Kelley Connect, via the Finance Law Development Program's application page or by attending the Consulting/IS/Supply Chain Career Fair at IU on Sept. 11. The firm also will host an on-campus reception on Sunday, Oct. 4, at a time and place to be announced.

Related Links

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Print-Quality Photo

Media Contacts

Ken Turchi

Assistant dean for finance and administration

  • Maurer School of Law
  • Office 812-856-4044
  • kturchi@indiana.edu

James Boyd

  • IU Maurer School of Law
  • Office 812-855-0156
  • joboyd@indiana.edu