Building Legal Literacy: Why More Companies Seek Employees with an MLS
Today, working in fields like cybersecurity, finance and health care requires greater technical and legal knowledge than ever before. If you are in a law-related role in any industry that is affected by legal and/or compliance regulations — and you've been looking to advance your education beyond the undergraduate level — a Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree could be the next logical step in your journey.
An MLS program could help you build valuable knowledge that supports your decision-making, strengthens collaboration skills and prepares you to navigate even the most complex of regulatory compliance scenarios.
Why More Companies Seek Employees With an MLS
Strong legal knowledge isn't only valuable in legal roles. In many ways, a sense of legal literacy has become integral to non-legal roles, thereby leading to an elevated demand for MLS-educated professionals in an evolving, compliance-centered workforce.
Legal Literacy Is Becoming Essential in Modern Organizations
Even in industries that seem somewhat removed from the legal world, a basic sense of legal literacy in business has grown in importance. This is especially true considering the expanding complexity of the regulatory landscape as well as the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), among other tools, that call for a better understanding of data privacy and consumer rights.
More than ever, then, legal literacy represents a critical skill in any law-adjacent role that deals with risk management, compliance, decision-making and the use of new technologies.
Employers Value Professionals With an MLS
When employers see that a job applicant holds a Master of Legal Studies degree, they can assume the applicant has completed a rigorous program designed to develop legal skills for professionals that include:
- Risk assessment and management
- Regulatory compliance
- Decision-making
- Legal analysis
With this solid legal foundation in place, employers may feel more confident in hiring MLS-prepared applicants for law-adjacent roles across numerous industries.
Why the MLS Is a Strategic Investment for Your Career
If you already have an undergraduate degree, you might think about pursuing your MLS as a means of building legal literacy in business and other legal skills for professionals. However, a few considerations are worth keeping in mind as you weigh whether this path may be ideal for you.
Who Should Consider an MLS?
In general, an MLS program is tailored to non-lawyer professionals who work (or aspire to work) in roles that require an in-depth understanding of legal regulations, risk management and industry-specific compliance standards. Examples of fields in which an MLS degree may be particularly valuable include:
- Human resources (HR)
- Public policy/government
- Finance
- Health care
- Business and entrepreneurship
- Higher education
- Cybersecurity and information privacy
Career Advantages of Earning an MLS
There are numerous potential MLS career benefits to earning this type of degree, depending on your specific industry and career goals. For one, the curriculum of an MLS program is designed to help build valuable legal literacy skills that can apply across a wide range of roles and disciplines.
In addition, earning an advanced degree such as an MLS could help you prepare for the transition into higher-level roles, including leadership positions with greater autonomy and higher earning potential. Plus, of course, having an MLS could help establish your reputation as a thought leader in your industry, which may add to your professional credibility.
Supporting Business Strategy and Decision-Making
As part of an MLS program, you'll have the opportunity to explore dedicated coursework in business strategy and decision-making — both valuable skills in any law-adjacent role.
Ability to Translate Legal Concepts Into Business Decisions
Whether you work in an HR, tech, health care or other law-adjacent capacity, the legal literacy skills developed in an MLS program may better prepare you to translate complex legal concepts into informed business decisions. This could ultimately help you avoid costly legal mistakes within your organization, ensure regulatory compliance and mitigate ongoing risks.
Competitive Advantage in Highly Regulated Industries
In industries subject to a particularly high degree of regulatory oversight (e.g., health care and finance), having an MLS education could set you up for an even greater competitive advantage over professionals with an undergraduate education alone. That's because an MLS program encompasses dedicated coursework in compliance, risk mitigation and other specialized areas of your specific industry that could better prepare you to navigate regulatory issues while ensuring compliance.
Strategic Decision-Making
With the advanced legal literacy and legal analysis skills honed in an MLS program, graduates may also be better equipped to confidently analyze legal risks in day-to-day operations and strategic planning. This may improve their ability to make long-term strategic decisions with organizational goals and objectives at the forefront.
Strengthening Organizational Operations and Collaboration
The range of skills and knowledge gained in an MLS degree program could also help law-adjacent professionals foster valuable collaboration and operations skills that are applicable across various disciplines.
Improved Cross-Department Collaboration
Human resources, health care, tech and other industries often require strong interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork for optimal outcomes. Throughout an MLS program, students build collaboration skills that could in turn enhance risk management and compliance efforts, elevate efficiency and optimize employee engagement.
Better Contract and Policy Management
In addition, MLS students may learn key contract and policy management skills that are crucial across industries. This includes proficiency in:
- Contract drafting and negotiation
- Legal analysis
- Contract lifecycle management
- Policy development
- Risk management
Reduced Legal Costs
Finally, hiring an MLS-prepared professional could help businesses in certain industries directly reduce their own legal costs. In particular, MLS-educated professionals can help businesses improve their regulatory compliance practices and risk assessment to mitigate unnecessary (and costly) risks while avoiding fines and other penalties associated with noncompliance.
Preparing Future Leaders in Regulated Industries
Interested in advancing into a leadership role in a law-adjacent field? An MLS degree program could help you build valuable skills as they relate to:
- Corporate governance and regulatory compliance
- Leadership in highly regulated industries like health care and tech
- Increased organizational accountability
Meanwhile, the knowledge and expertise gained in an MLS program could help cultivate the professional confidence and formal credentials needed to qualify for certain leadership roles that you may not be able to explore with an undergraduate degree alone.
Navigating Regulatory Complexity and Compliance
No matter which MLS concentration you may be considering, each industry is governed by specific regulations and laws that can be highly complex. As part of an MLS program, then, you'll learn how to navigate regulatory intricacies and compliance standards with a greater sense of confidence and adaptability.
Increasing Regulatory Complexity
As regulations across industries become increasingly complex, the need for MLS-educated professionals grows, too, as organizations need knowledgeable, skilled professionals to stay on top of the latest changes.
Stronger Compliance and Risk Management
MLS-prepared professionals may also be better equipped to ensure organizations have solid, reliable compliance policies in place while identifying and taking steps to mitigate unnecessary legal risk.
Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Compliance
Today's businesses are collecting unprecedented volumes of data — which comes with a greater responsibility to understand and adhere to laws related to cybersecurity and data protection. Thus, many businesses prefer to hire MLS-educated professionals with dedicated training in data privacy and cybersecurity compliance issues.
Support for Innovation in Regulated Industries
Across all fields, businesses strive to become innovators and set themselves apart from the competition. At the same time, with innovation accompanies the inherent need for regulatory knowledge and compliance. An MLS-educated professional can provide much-needed support for innovation in highly regulated industries while taking practical measures to protect businesses from legal risks.
Adaptability to Changing Laws
Industry-specific laws and regulations can change with little notice, but MLS-prepared professionals know the tricks of the trade when it comes to staying on top of the latest laws and understanding their potential implications.
Start Building Legal Literacy With an MLS
Many of today's employers prefer to hire MLS-educated professionals for law-adjacent roles in health care, finance, cybersecurity, human resources and beyond. If you've been pondering the idea of going back to school for a graduate degree, don't overlook the potential MLS career benefits that could await you in the right program.
At Drexel University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law, our Master of Legal Studies program is offered in your choice of nine different concentrations — allowing you to select the focus most related to your professional needs and career goals. This program is available in a 100% online format, meaning you can complete coursework asynchronously with no on-campus requirements (an ideal arrangement for working professionals).
Get in touch to learn more about our 45-credit MLS program, or take the next step by completing your application for admission today. You can also learn more about our MLS admissions criteria here.
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