Two New Faculty Members to Launch Signature Programs

Two additions to the Richmond Law faculty will spearhead new programs aimed at even better equipping students for the changing nature of legal practice. Janice Craft will lead the Professional Identity Formation Program, while Josh Kubicki will lead the Legal Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program.

The Professional Identity Formation Program will prepare students to develop the habits of mind and character that are associated with professional excellence in the legal system, while the Legal Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program will equip students to approach increasingly complex legal problems in creative ways. Both programs will include curricular and co-curricular opportunities.

"I'm so pleased to welcome these exceptional practitioners to lead the way in our new signature programs," said Dean Wendy Perdue."These offerings will supplement our traditional doctrinal courses to give our students an even stronger foundation in the skills they need to best serve their clients."

Prior to joining the Richmond Law faculty, Craft served as a staff attorney and later as the Legal Services Director of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of gender-based violence. Craft helped lead the Alliance’s successful effort to build a non-traditional legal services delivery program that provides underserved survivors access to trauma-informed, pro bono legal representation from private attorneys in their communities. Prior to her work with the Alliance, Craft served as Policy Director for a Virginia affiliate of a national reproductive rights organization and clerked for then-Chief Judge Walter S. Felton, Jr. of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.

"I am honored to join the law school faculty as the Director of Professional Identity Formation, and deeply humbled by the faculty’s commitment to launching this program amidst the backdrop of uncertainty produced by COVID-19,” said Craft. “The process of professional identity formation assures us not only of our core and intrinsic values and strengths as service providers, but also the myriad and transformative ways we can put those values and service-mindedness into practice, even and perhaps especially under the most unprecedented circumstances.”

Kubicki researches, teaches, and speaks at the intersection of innovation, the legal practice, and the business of law. Over the last 20 years, he has merged his experience in the fields of design, management science, and strategy execution to build services and products for business and legal teams. He is a former Chief Strategy Officer for an AmLaw 100 law firm, worked in Verizon’s general counsel office, and has served as an adviser to CEOs of leading alternative legal service providers and legal startups. He recently co-founded and built the first business design studio focused on the legal market. 

Kubicki states that the program is necessary because “now, more than ever, law students must understand the real business impacts and pressures within the legal economy. They must learn to operate and design legal business and service models, regardless of whether they are in private practice, government, legal aid, or in-house.” 

“My goal with this program is to complement the renowned legal education of the school and focus on the student experience as we equip them with new skills, tools, and mindsets,” Kubicki added. “Doing this will position our students to be even more resilient and creative as they enter their careers.”