Accelerator-to-Practice Program
The Accelerator to Practice Program is a first of its kind comprehensive multi-year course of study and practice designed to prepare graduates for small and solo practice. Students in the program develop essential lawyering skills necessary for modern practice, while simultaneously learning how to run a business, including firm finances, marketing, technology, and law practice management tools.
The program inspires students to pursue new and innovative business models for serving individuals who need a lawyer but cannot access one, thereby helping to close the nation’s “justice gap.” Designed and delivered between the Office of Professional and Career Development, law faculty, local practitioners, and national practice experts, Bloomberg Law recently named the Accelerator Program a “Top Innovator” in legal education and one of the best programs in the nation for career pathing.
Why the Accelerator Program?
Half of Suffolk Law graduates entering private practice upon graduation join small firms. The Accelerator to Practice Program prepares students to obtain and succeed in these positions by producing graduates specially trained to provide value to small firms and their clients upon graduation. The program also gives students the entrepreneurial toolkit to become the next generation of small firm leaders.
Accelerator Program Structure
Successful applicants are admitted into a specialized track of instruction that includes an expanded professional development and skills curriculum, technological training, supervised internships at high performing small firms, associate-level fee-shifting work in the Accelerator Practice, and career development and practice supports.
Students begin their training by being placed at a successful small firm during their 1LD/2LE summer where they receive an introduction to the business of the firm and the practice of law through varied assignments that include traditional legal tasks, but also assignments related to firm management, client development, networking, and marketing.
Students subsequently enroll in upper-level business and technology-focused coursework, complete a second summer internship at another small firm, and receive a full-year of clinical instruction in the capstone Accelerator Practice.
What Do Accelerator Students Learn?
Foundational Lawyering Skills:
- Interview and counsel clients
- Conduct fact investigation and perform legal research
- Prepare legal documents
- Negotiate settlements
- Communicate persuasively and argue cases in court
Law Practice Management & Technology:
- Develop law firm business and marketing plans
- Price legal services
- Build professional networks needed to obtain referral business
- Leverage technology to provide cost-effective legal services
- Join or build a viable law practice
Apply to the Accelerator Program
Students can apply online by completing the Accelerator to Practice Program application form. Applications are typically due in February of 1LD/2LE. While priority is given to students during their first year, if there is space available, students may also have the opportunity to apply in the Fall of their 2LD/3LE year.
