Three decades ago, Terence J. Lau L’98 walked the corridors as an eager student at the Syracuse University College of Law, then located in White Hall. He knew he had been given a rare chance—and a full scholarship—to be a part of Syracuse Law, and the opportunities ahead were endless. Today, his eagerness and enthusiasm are stronger than ever as he again walks through the halls of the Law School with the same sense that a rare opportunity has come his way. In August 2024, Lau began his role as the 13th dean of the Syracuse University College of Law — and the first alumnus to lead the Law School in its 130-year history.
The Foundations for a Career
Prior to applying to law schools, Lau was training to be a commercial airline pilot, but without the funds to continue, he needed a new plan. So Lau set his sights on the law. Syracuse Law not only offered him a scholarship but gave him the foundations for a successful career in law and higher education.
“Attending Syracuse Law changed the trajectory of my life,” says Lau. “I enrolled sight unseen, and it became my home for the next three years. I’m eternally grateful for the education and career opportunities the law school gave me. Returning to serve as dean is a true full circle moment.”
Lau stands out not only as an alumnus, but also for his unconventional path to becoming a law school dean. While he was a practicing attorney early on, much of his career has been in higher education, particularly in the business school space, giving him a distinct perspective in his new role.
Pivoting to Business in Academia
After receiving his J.D., Lau joined Ford Motor Corp. as an attorney, working in transactional, distribution, and international trade practice. In 2006, he became a fellow for the U.S. Supreme Court assigned to the Office of the Administrative Assistant to Chief Justice John Roberts.
Lau’s career quickly pivoted to a more business-oriented path when he joined the University of Dayton’s School of Business Administration, first as a professor of business law and then as director of international business programs, department chair of management and marketing, and, eventually, associate dean of undergraduate programs. In 2017, he spent a year in China serving as executive director of academic and corporate relations for the University of Dayton China Institute.
The following year, he returned to the United States to take on the role of dean of the College of Business at California State University Chico, a position he stepped down from just before coming to Syracuse.
Building a Long-Lasting Foundation
Taking on the role of dean at Syracuse Law has given Lau a chance to reflect on where he started and the path he took to get here today.
“I have great memories of law school, and I was also fortunate to experience the campus life of the greater University because, as part of my scholarship, I lived in the dorms as an employee of the Office of Residential Life for undergraduates,” he explains.
He says many of the best moments from law school revolve around the faculty. “When I run into other alumni, it seems everyone will talk about a specific faculty member who had a lasting impact on them,” Lau says. “And it’s that incredibly student-focused faculty who are a very integral part of what makes Syracuse Law much different from what you get elsewhere. They are practical and solution-oriented individuals who come to us having had a tremendous impact on the law through their scholarship and work experiences.”
Lau has his own list of faculty who made a lasting impression, including Professor of Law Emeritus Travis H.D. Lewin and former Dean Daan Braveman, now a distinguished lecturer in Syracuse Law’s JDinteractive (JDi) program.
“I was Professor Lewin’s research assistant, and he also coached me on the trial team. When we went into competitions, he would say, ‘Go to war; return in peace,’” says Lau. “Dean Braveman taught Civil Procedures my first year and told us, ‘You have to pass the “look yourself in the mirror every morning” test,’ referring to conducting yourself within the ethical and legal limits of the law. Both of these lessons have stuck with me as I navigated my career.”
A Personal Desire to Give Back
“Coming to Syracuse Law as a student is the center of all good things that have happened to me professionally, so I never lost touch with the law school,” says Lau, who has been an active alumnus since graduating. “I’ve been a donor for a long time because I wanted to pay forward what Syracuse Law gave to me, and, in 2022, I was honored to be asked to join the Board of Advisors and lend my experience to the law school and its future generations of lawyers.”
When Lau heard that Dean Craig Boise was stepping down, he offered his insights as a board member to the search committee, helping to shape the qualities they should seek in the next dean. His passion for Syracuse Law and his thoughts on new leadership clearly made an impression, as not long after, the search committee approached Lau to see if he was interested in the position.
The timing seemed right, as Lau was looking for another opportunity. Where better to further his career than his alma mater?
“Terence has a passion for the Law School and credits this place for a lot of his success,” says Professor of Law Todd Berger, co-chair of the Dean’s Search Committee. “For him, joining us as dean didn’t seem to be just the next step in his career. It was a very personal desire to give back to a place that truly impacted his life and his profession.”
According to Berger, the search committee was impressed by Lau’s background in higher education, particularly in a business school environment, as well as his foundation as a lawyer. “It gave an insider-outsider quality that made him a very intriguing candidate,” Berger says.
Nina A. Kohn, the David M. Levy Professor of Law, also co-chaired the search committee. “I think Terence brought a really sophisticated understanding of higher education and a sense of his vision of how the law school fits into the big picture of a research university,” she says. “And he has an outstanding ability to connect with a very broad and diverse group of stakeholders here, which is so important to our success.”
“I think it’s wonderful that he comes to us as an alumnus with a deep history of the College of Law,” Kohn adds. “He cares about the school in a very personal way, and I think it says a lot about how we value our students and about our confidence in the education we provide.”
Richard Alexander L’82, chair of the Syracuse Law Board of Advisors and partner and chair emeritus at Arnold & Porter, also admires the qualities Lau offered to the college.
“During the search process, Terence demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the Law School in the current environment,” says Alexander. “He impressed us with his enthusiasm and energy, as well as his commitment to driving success at the Syracuse University College of Law.”
From First-Year Student to First-Year Dean
Now that Lau has settled into his position as dean, he is solidifying his goals to retain the history and excellence of the school, while also working to see Syracuse Law reach its full potential.
“A lot has changed since I went to school here. The University as a whole has grown, climbed in the rankings and become more nationally and internationally known as the Orange brand has expanded. This has benefitted the Law School, as well,” he says. “But I’m proud to see that the values that I remember most — the role Syracuse University and the College of Law play in the greater community and the generosity to the region — have never wavered.”
Lau acknowledges that going from the dean of a business school to that of a law school is not the most common path. “Being a dean is largely the same skillset, but being a dean of a business school is not a natural step for a lawyer,” he explains. “However, this dual path has allowed me to become familiar with the study and operations of business such as management and budgeting, which are as necessary to running a law school as knowing the law. And it has allowed me to make decisions from both perspectives, which I believe will be a real benefit.”
Goals: The Roadmap to Tomorrow
Lau is solidifying his goals to continue the growth of Syracuse Law. While he has many ideas, some of his priorities focus on growing the JDi program, increasing the number of full scholarships the College of Law gives, creating an even richer campus culture by attracting more students to the international Master of Laws (LL.M.) program, and taking a careful look at what improvements might be made to the existing on-campus J.D. program.
According to Lau, one of the biggest strengths at Syracuse Law is its JDi program, which allows non-traditional students to become lawyers through a hybrid courseload.
“Business schools have had an online component for a while—but not so much law schools,” he explains. “Our JDi program started in 2019 and was the first program in the nation to be accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Today, almost half of our students are part of the JDi program, and it has become a legitimate alternative for working adults, those raising kids, and others who want a Syracuse Law education but can’t be on campus every day. That was simply never an option when I was in school. Only those who had the financial resources to take time off to be a full-time student could go to law school, which was very limiting.”
Lau believes the JDi program has expanded that level of opportunity and says the ABA has become more flexible about the rules for operating a hybrid program. (Students in Syracuse’s JDi program take classes and participate in activities online, but are required to attend several in-person residencies on campus or in a variety of other cities throughout the program.)
“Today, we have a whole group of students, from those on active duty in the military to retirees starting their next chapter. Many of these JDi students would not otherwise have had the opportunity to earn their law degrees,” he says.
Syracuse Law’s JDi program is currently limited by the ABA to 125 students, but Lau is determined to increase its capacity of qualified students “slowly and by demand.”
“Right now, we turn away a lot of qualified people, but by growing the program in an intentional, measured way, we can offer a quality legal education to a lot more people,” he explains.
Lau also intends to examine the existing on-campus J.D. program, which has not seen significant changes in years, to “offer different flavors, so students can become experts in a greater variety of areas of the law as they prepare to enter the professional legal arena.”
As someone who relied on a scholarship to attend Syracuse Law, he also hopes to increase the number of full scholarships the Law School provides. “I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t received a three-year scholarship,” he says. “The truth is we don’t give out many full-rides, and we need to take a closer look at improving on that in order to make Syracuse Law financially accessible to more people.”
Another important focus is the LL.M. program for international legal professionals. “There are some very accomplished people already working in the legal field as lawyers and judges from around the world who come here because they want a degree with a U.S. perspective,” says Lau. “We have the opportunity to expand this program, particularly in the area of tech transfer and technology, which is a growing need for foreign lawyers. Those enrolled in the LL.M. program add a richness to our campus community, and I’d like to see more of that in the future.”
One additional goal is continuing to strengthen ties across the greater University with more cross-disciplinary opportunities and initiatives.
“We know that there are many areas of interest across campus that pair nicely with the study of law, and I’d like to see us leverage more of that,” says Lau. “We already have a 3+3 program with the Whitman School of Management that allows qualified students to start law school after only three years of undergraduate work. And, we have several joint degree and certificate programs with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, as well as our new center in Washington, D.C., which should allow us to maximize that relationship and provide a greater focus on public affairs and public policy laws.”
But it doesn’t end there. “We know there are other interests across campus like entertainment and sports management, and I’d like to see us do more with places like the Falk School of Sport and Human Dynamics or the Newhouse School of Public Communications, for example, to create mutual opportunities and greater options,” Lau says.
Faculty Is Heart of the College of Law
One thing Lau is certain of is the excellence of the current faculty, and he intends to work to further support their areas of interest as an important part of keeping Syracuse Law going strong.
“The long-standing and incredibly student-focused faculty we have here is the heart of the College of Law,” he says, noting they are one of the primary differentiators from the experience one might get at another law school. “The level of accomplishment in the legal field and their interest in transferring that knowledge to our students is extraordinary here.”
Lau believes that the best way he can support faculty is by encouraging their ideas and helping to find ways to fund them — “and then get out of the way!”
“We want to create a culture here where the faculty have the ability to try new things, get the funding they need and hopefully succeed, but also not be afraid to fail,” he explains. “I’d like to see a culture that rewards faculty for asking questions, taking risks and innovating. And having the resources to support these innovators and risk takers is absolutely critical and a benefit to us all.”
Solidifying Network of Alumni Support
As a graduate himself, Lau certainly recognizes the importance of solid relationships with Syracuse Law’s alumni. He intends to further increase alumni support and involvement to ensure that current students are entering the legal profession with the most current skillsets, legal experience, and access to a network of more than 11,000 willing to help them succeed.
“Syracuse Law alumni are found in the world’s largest law firms, in startups, government, as CEOs, judges, and in the public sector working for the common good,” he says, noting that the Law School is among the select few law schools that count a U.S. president, former President Joseph R. Biden L’68, among their alumni.
“Our alumni are known for their willingness to roll up their sleeves, and I hope to reach out even further into this network, listen to their ideas and rely on their support. I encourage any alumnus who would like to become more closely involved in the law school to reach out to me personally,” he adds.
Today, with a full academic year under his belt, Lau walks through Dineen Hall with a trifecta that truly no one else has — experience as a student, alumnus, and dean.
“I have always taken great pride in the College of Law and the various perspectives I have been fortunate to have here,” he says. “Certainly, being a graduate of Syracuse Law adds an additional layer of responsibility to lead with those students, faculty, former deans and other supporters who have come before me, but it is also a privilege to keep Syracuse Law on an upward trajectory creating the lawyers of tomorrow. And I am up for the challenge!”
