In spring 2015, Fordham Law’s Career Planning Center launched Hire FLS: Make the Business Case, an initiative that includes partnering with the School’s alumni who work as in-house counsel.
Eric Grossman ’93, chief legal officer of Morgan Stanley, was an early champion of the initiative and continues to support it. On July 10, Grossman hosted the fourth annual Morgan Stanley/FLS Summer Associate Luncheon. The event encourages the company’s outside counsel to send their Fordham summer associates to the event.
“The relationship between Morgan Stanley and the Fordham University community, and in my particular case the Law School, is enormously valuable to both institutions,” said Grossman. “We are fortunate to have so many alumni in key roles at the firm, and we look forward to having even more in the future.”
Each year, the luncheon also features Hon. Loretta A. Preska ’73, judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Brad Butwin ’85, chair of O’Melveny & Myers.
“Eric, Brad, and I enjoy meeting the Fordham summers and demonstrating to them what an accomplished group our Fordham alumni are and how we enjoy each other, reach out to each other, and take care of each other,” said Judge Preska. “We hope the Fordham summers will follow us in paying forward.”
“Simply put, no law school alumni group has deeper loyalty to one another than ours does,” said Butwin. “In my own career, a Fordham Law alumnus hired me for my first job, became my first clients, and joined me as colleagues throughout my career. And I was fortunate to be able to interview and recommend hiring Eric right out of Fordham Law School. What I am most proud of, though, is the fact that all of those people became lifelong friends—as did so many other Fordham colleagues. That’s the kind of powerful alumni network this wonderful school offers.”
“This initiative is a wonderful opportunity to show the importance of the Fordham Law network and how our alumni reach back to help the next generation of Fordham lawyers,” said Suzanne M. Endrizzi ’96, assistant dean for career planning. “It has been a pleasure watching our in-house counsel alumni engage with our students and in the fabric of the Law School.”
The initiative also includes an annual email from Dean Matthew Diller to the School’s in-house counsel alumni encouraging them to reach out to their outside counsel to meet their Fordham Law summer associates.
Enhancing the value of a Fordham Law education is one of the six objectives of the Law School’s strategic plan, Fordham Law Forward.