The Fashion Law Institute's unique annual Summer Intensive Program, fondly known as Fashion Law Bootcamp, is your opportunity to experience the field of fashion law outside of the regular law school curriculum. It's an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the substance of style, with emphasis on current business and legal issues involving the global fashion industry.

Learn fashion law from industry leaders

The program is run by Professor Susan Scafidi, Founder and Academic Director of the Institute, who pioneered the field of fashion law. She is the first professor to create a course in the area – covering the same material as the Fashion Law Bootcamp edition – and is internationally recognized for her expertise. Participants will also have the opportunity to meet fashion industry leaders and Fashion Law Institute faculty, who teach the Fashion Law curriculum at Fordham Law School and themselves have worked with major brands, such as Tiffany, Kering, LVMH, Wilhelmina, Ford Models, and Conde Nast.

Photo of attendees at Fashion Law Bootcamp next to boot with pink flowers

The world of fashion law

Fashion law knowledge gives you vital tools for building fashion's future – and because fashion is a truly global industry, Fashion Law Bootcamp takes a comparative international approach. The syllabus is updated every year, with each section taking a fashion-centered focus to help attendees work with the industry more effectively. Topics include

intellectual property protection of fashion designs,
counterfeiting,
licensing agreements,
contracts and force majeure,
employment issues from designers to models,
antitrust,
bankruptcy,
fashion and technology, including data security & privacy,
fashion finance,
local manufacturing,
real estate,
retail issues,
consumer protection (including cosmetics and personal care products),
ethics, sustainability and green fashion,
import/export regulations and tariffs,
endangered species law,
sumptuary laws,
masks and personal protective equipment, and
dress codes.

For lawyers and others interested in the law and business of fashion

Fashion Law Bootcamp® is open to lawyers (and offers CLE credit), fashion professionals, law students, design students and alumni, and others in the U.S. and abroad who are interested in broadening their knowledge of the law and business of fashion. The program is an excellent way for fashion industry professionals to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the legal issues that they deal with on a regular basis or for practicing lawyers to expand their current practice or even jumpstart a change in career.

Individuals who have not yet had academic or practical exposure to the law and business of fashion, including design students entering their final year of study, are eligible to apply but must have a demonstrated scholastic aptitude and willingness to take on the challenge of studying legal materials.

APPLY NOW!

APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
The brief application form is below and is also linked here. Completed applications are reviewed as they are received.

CREDITS

Law students: Fashion Law Bootcamp does not issue a Fordham transcript; academic credit will need approval from your home institution. For additional information, please read this and email bootcamp@fashionlawinstitute.com
before applying).

Lawyers: Both newly admitted and experienced attorneys will receive a maximum of 28.0 transitional and non-transitional, professional practice New York State CLE credits, for the online edition. We are looking into CLE certification for other jurisdictions.

California CLE credit certification renewal for the San Francisco/Silicon Valley edition is pending; based on previous years, the amount of CLE credits for this version should be 14.0 transitional and non-transitional, professional practice New York State CLE credits, and 12.0 CLE credit hours for California.

CERTIFICATE
Certificates of completion will be awarded to all participants at the conclusion of the program.

VISA
If you are not a U.S. citizen or legal resident and are in or will enter the U.S. as a non-immigrant, you may need a visa to attend in-person editions of Fashion Law Bootcamp. A student visa is NOT required; attendees typically use a B-2 or B-1 visa depending on their particular interests, or, for qualified countries, the visa waiver program. Please email us for more information.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION about Fashion Law Bootcamp, please email bootcamp@fashionlawinstitute.com.

DATES

New York: May 27 - May 31, 2025

Silicon Valley: TBA (email bootcamp@fashionlawinstitute.com for updates)

CONTENT

The New York in-person edition covers the entire content of Professor Scafidi's pioneering two-credit-hour Fashion Law course.

The Silicon Valley edition covers special topics in fashion law with a technology focus, with sessions at the headquarters of leading brands. Details to be announced for the 2025 edition, which had to postponed due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Silicon Valley offices.

FEE

New York: $2,450, which includes all expenses associated with the program, including materials and optional sessions.

Silicon Valley: To be determined. A special reduced combined rate will be available for attendees of both the online and Silicon Valley editions!

DEPOSIT

A $250 deposit is due with the application. The deposit is applied toward the program cost and is non-refundable once accepted into the program. We look forward to receiving your application!

ACCOMMODATIONS

For the Silicon Valley edition, there are a number of places to stay in San Francisco, and surrounding areas. Details are provided in the admittance letter.

15th Annual Symposium

Please join us this Friday, April 4, for the highlight of the fashion law calendar – our 15th annual Fashion Law Institute symposium, "FASHION IS FIRE"!

DATE: April 4, 2025
TIME: 9am-6pm
PLACE: Fordham Law School, 150 W. 62nd Street, 2nd floor
NYS CLE: 6.0 hours total (5.0 professional practice, transitional & non-transitional, and 1.0 diversity, inclusion, and elimination of bias)

SCHEDULE:

9:20am
WELCOME: All fired up!

9:30-10:30am
Flamed out: Antitrust law and fashion in the wake of the blocked Tapestry / Capri merger and the Saks / Neiman Marcus acquisition

10:45-11:45am
World on fire: Managing external crises, from political upheaval to natural disasters

12-1pm
LUNCH: (Hopefully not) burnt offerings

1:15-2:15pm
Phoenix rising: Looking ahead to the EU Digital Product Passport, revised FTC Green Guides, and the future of sustainability

2:30-3:30pm
Too hot to handle? “Woke” fashion in the wake of interconnected challenges to DEI, academia, immigration, and drag

3:45-4:45pm
Spark of genius: Protecting IP in the dupe culture era

5-6pm:
RECEPTION: Afterglow

This event will not be livestreamed, but if we are able to record individual panels, we will share the links afterward.

SPEAKERS:

Jana Checa Chong, Louis Vuitton
Bill D'Arienzo, WDA Strategic Brand Marketing
Sindy Ding-Voorhees, Kilpatrick Townsend
Rose D'Orazio, Authentic Brands Group
Ariele Elia, Fashion Law Institute
Avery Fischer, Ralph Lauren Corporation
Mark Fischer, PVH
Laura E. Hansell, Kering
David Horowitz, Media Coalition
Prof. Takashi Ieda, Nanzan University
Kimberly M. Jenkins, The Fashion and Race Database and Artis Solomon Consulting
Hilary Jochmans, Jochmans Consulting
John Maltbie, Louis Vuitton
Olivera Medenica, Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller
Susy Mendoza, lululemon
Alice Pang, Ralph Lauren Corporation
Professor Susan Scafidi, Fashion Law Institute
Colette Stanford, SPARC Group
Stacey Foltz Stark, Estée Lauder Companies
Jeff Trexler, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Sara Yood, Jewelers Vigilance Committee
Elnaz Zarrini, Benefit Street Partners

REGISTER NOW!

Inside Out 10

Whether you believe the new president is playing his cards strategically or the jokers are running wild in Washington, the unprecedented flood of executive orders in the first weeks of the administration is affecting many economic sectors and communities, including the fashion industry. From tariffs and trade to immigration, DEI programs, corporate taxes, environmental regulations, and more, the executive branch seems determined to Trump old policies with new ones. How can fashion adapt to these rapid changes and emerge with a winning hand? Join our distinguished panelists as they drop their poker faces and lay their cards on the table for the Fashion Law Institute's 10th annual candid, off-the-record, unrecorded discussion, "Inside Out 10: Fashion's In-House Counsel on Playing the Political Hand We're Dealt."

DATE: Friday, February 7, 2025
TIME: 9:30-10:45 am
PLACE: Fordham Law School, 150 W. 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023
NYS CLE: 1.5 hours professional practice, transitional and non-transitional

Speakers:

Angie Byun, AB World
Louise Firestone, LVMH (formerly)
Laura Hansell, Kering
Jeffrey S. Hellman, PVH Corp.
Hayley Macon, Endeavor
Natalia Tenaglia, G-III Apparel Group
Ashley Valdes, Warby Parker
Moderated by Professor Susan Scafidi, Founder & Director, Fashion Law Institute at Fordham

SOLD OUT!

For more information about the Institute or the CLE hardship policy, please contact us at events@fashionlawinstitute.com.

Happy Year of the Snake!

Happy 2025 from the Fashion Law Institute, with the number 2 in the shape of a curved snake

Fashion Law Pop-Up Clinic

Next Clinic: September 2025

(Appointment required)

Volunteer

Request assistance

We’re here to help! A key part of the Fashion Law Institute’s mission is providing legal assistance to designers and fashion industry professionals, not only in the form of educational programming but also by offering free legal consultations. Long before the launch of the Institute, we realized that there was no fashion-specific pro bono legal program available, and that many emerging and independent designers lacked access to basic legal advice tailored to the fashion industry. With the help of the CFDA, we set out to fill that information gap.

Our series of Fashion Law Pop-Up Clinics matches each individual designer with a volunteer attorney who has both fashion experience and expertise related to the question at hand, along with an advanced student studying fashion law for extra assistance. (We came up with the “pop-up” name as a nod to retail pop-up stores – and a way to distinguish this program from traditional law school clinical courses.)

If you are a designer with a question or an attorney who would like to volunteer, please click here or email us for more information. Designers and other fashion industry professionals, please understand that we do not ordinarily arrange legal counsel apart from the Fashion Law Pop-Up Clinics and that space in this popular program is limited.

CLE Materials – Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge Screening and Panel

Protected: CLE Materials: Inside Out 9

Inside Out 9

SOLD OUT!

Join us for our 9th annual panel featuring fashion's in-house counsel!

Washington may be routinely derided as the city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm, but U.S. federal agencies have been quite busy lately with new proposals and regulations that directly affect the fashion industry. We've asked in-house colleagues to join us for a candid, off-the-record discussion of the agency activities that they're watching closely, from the Copyright Office and AI to the DOL and employee misclassification to the SEC and climate change reporting -- and of course, the question on everyone's mind, wtFTC?! We look forward to seeing you during New York Fashion Week for our 9th annual in-house counsel panel, "Inside Out 9: Fashion's in-house counsel on federal agency agendas"! This session will not be recorded.

DATE: Friday, February 9, 2024
TIME: 9:30-10:45 am
PLACE: Fordham Law School, 150 W. 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023
NYS CLE: 1.5 hours professional practice, transitional and non-transitional

Speakers:

Ewa Abrams, Kering
Jeffrey Hellman, PVH
Hayley Macon, Endeavor
Alice Pang, Ralph Lauren
Ashley Valdes, Warby Parker
Moderated by Professor Susan Scafidi, Founder & Director, Fashion Law Institute at Fordham

For more information about the Institute or the CLE hardship policy, please contact us at events@fashionlawinstitute.com.

14th Annual Symposium

REGISTRATION CLOSED - SOLD OUT!

Join us in person on Thursday, October 10, for the 14th annual Fashion Law Institute symposium!

DATE: October 10, 2024
TIME: 9am-6pm
PLACE: Fordham Law School, 150 W. 62nd Street, 2nd floor
NYS CLE: 6.0 hours total

PANELS:

9am
Coffee

9:20am
Welcome

9:30–10:30am
Power of the purse: Antitrust issues litigation and fashion

10:45–11:45am
Getting a handle on new laws: Legislative and regulatory update

12–1pm
Lunch

1:15–2:15pm
Statement pieces: Dress codes, mask laws, and freedom of speech

2:30–3:30pm
So last season: Intellectual property challenges in the resale market

3:45–4:45pm
Totes and votes: Politics and the gift of garb

5–6pm
Reception

SPEAKERS:

Christina Asbee, Disability Rights New York
Laurie Berke-Weiss, Berke-Weiss Law
Alessandra Biaggi, American politician, attorney, and activist
Jana Checa Chong, Louis Vuitton
Evan Clark, WWD
Jacob Gallagher, New York Times
Douglas Hand, Hand Baldachin & Associates
Beth Haroules, New York Civil Liberties Union
Hilary Jochmans, Jochmans Consulting
Joshua W. Kapelman, Hilldun
John Maltbie, Louis Vuitton
Laura Zaharia Marion, J.Crew
Olivera Medenica, Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller
John Owens Jr., New York City Law Department
Mimi Plange, Designer
Norman Siegel, Siegel Teitelbaum & Evans
Ashley Valdes, Warby Parker
Sara Yood, Jewelers Vigilance Committee
Elnaz Zarrini, Benefit Street Partners