On July 1, Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech welcomed David Reiss to their faculties as clinical professor of law and research director of the Blassberg-Rice Center for Entrepreneurship Law. Based at the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, Reiss will co-teach the Law School’s Entrepreneurship Clinic, allowing the Law School to provide a clinical offering in New York City for the first time. Reiss will also teach in Cornell Law and Cornell Tech’s program in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship.

Reiss’s hire represents a significant milestone in the growth of the Blassberg-Rice Center for Entrepreneurship Law. Created with the support of a transformative gift from Franci J. Blassberg ’75, J.D. ’77, and Joseph L. Rice III, the Blassberg-Rice Center for Entrepreneurship Law supports entrepreneurship initiatives through clinical education. Reiss will teach alongside Celia Bigoness, founding director of the Blassberg-Rice Center and the Entrepreneurship Clinic. With Bigoness in Ithaca and Reiss in New York City, the Blassberg-Rice Center will provide pro bono legal services to entrepreneurs and small businesses across New York State.

“Cornell Law has a distinguished record of clinical service to the community, and we could not be more grateful to the Blassberg-Rice family for the support to extend our students’ experience and pro bono assistance to New York City,” noted Jens Ohlin, Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law at Cornell Law.

“We are thrilled to welcome David to our campus as he joins the new Blassberg-Rice Center for Entrepreneurship Law as well as Cornell Tech’s Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship degree program,” said Greg Morrisett, Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost for Cornell Tech. “David’s legal background, extensive research and academic experience, and New York City network will be a great inspiration to our students and will serve to enhance these unique offerings on our campus.”

Reiss joins Cornell from Brooklyn Law School, where he taught for over twenty years and founded the Community Development Clinic. In addition to his teaching, Reiss is active in research, scholarship, and professional service. He served as the research director for Brooklyn’s Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship, and he is a research affiliate at the NYU Furman Center, a collaboration between New York University Law School and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He serves on the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Emerging Digital Finance and Currency as an expert on the intersection of real estate and blockchain technology. Reiss is the author of the forthcoming book, Paying for the American Dream: How to Reform the Market for Mortgages (Oxford University Press).

“Training excellent 21st century lawyers requires law schools to keep up with technological innovation while also maintaining a focus on lawyering fundamentals: research, writing, and advocacy,” said Reiss. “Cornell Law School’s clinical program is keeping these two goals front and center as it educates tomorrow’s lawyers.”

“David is the perfect person to expand our clinical program to New York City,” said Bigoness. “He has a wealth of clinical teaching experience, and a strong professional network with government agencies, community organizations, and businesses across the five boroughs. He’ll provide top-notch legal training to our students at the Cornell Tech campus, and will support the local community by empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses.”

Reiss earned his B.A. degree from Williams College in 1989, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from NYU Law School in 1996. After law school, Reiss spent five years as a corporate associate at pre-eminent firms—first at Morrison & Foerster, and then at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He then spent one year teaching at Seton Hall Law School, before joining the faculty of Brooklyn Law School in 2003.

“With Cornell’s land grant mandate to serve the entire state, we are especially proud that our clinic students will have the opportunity to provide legal services in the city,” said Beth Lyon, clinical program director and associate dean for experiential. “Working across the two campuses, they will also have the chance to manage a successful statewide practice across distinct legal landscapes.”