Companies expect their in-house counsel to be not only well-trained lawyers, but also business advisors who understand their product and seek efficiencies - skills largely skipped in law school, until now.

New York Law School said Wednesday it's launching the James Tricarico Jr. Institute for the Business of Law and In-House Counsel, which aims to prepare students for in-house success. Its offerings include a class on legal tech and legal operations, a "mini-MBA" program and a clinic where law students design legal technology solutions and advise startups, among other things.

NYLS Dean and President Anthony Crowell spoke with Reuters this week about the institute. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

REUTERS: What sparked this launch?

CROWELL: As someone who taught for 12 years prior to becoming dean, I recognized career paths into in-house roles or into corporate legal settings are valuable and abundant. I don't think law students have had enough of the grooming for that. Being in New York, we see a tremendous number of our students go into financial services. And those are all in-house counsel.

In 2014, we held a small conference known as an institute for in-house counsel. Over a few years, we started the Business of Law Institute, designed to look at legal technology and careers for lawyers using blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies.

Putting all these different programs under one umbrella made sense. Jim (Tricarico, former general counsel of Edward Jones and a NYLS alumnus) wanted to see it happen. And he gave the resources to pull it together.

REUTERS: What skills do students need to succeed in-house that aren't typically part of a law school curriculum?

CROWELL: They should know how to code, they should know how to build apps, they should work to understand how to solve legal problems through technology. They should understand cybersecurity and privacy issues. There are governance risks and compliance issues. There's a broad range of issues that require you to not just have knowledge, but to develop a facility for how the technology works.

REUTERS: Stressing those skills - where do you predict the legal industry is going?

CROWELL: Law firms are adopting new technologies. Law firms have in-house units with large groups of lawyers dealing with legal tech issues, not just for discovery. These are large service centers and practice groups within firms. There are certainly large practice groups and service centers within in-house roles and government now.

Also the basic skills of understanding how organizations work, how you help organizations make decisions, how to serve the bottomline in an ethical and compliant way - those skills are really needed for in-house roles right now.

REUTERS: Have you seen any trends in where the jobs are for students? Are there more in-house roles now than six, seven years ago?

CROWELL: Yes. I see it tremendously in financial services. We see a number of our students go into the tech sector as well.

REUTERS: Are students more open to in-house roles?

CROWELL: I'll start my 10th year (as dean) in about two months. I have seen a significant shift in mindset and openness. I think that has to do with a couple of things. There's been a broad restructuring of legal services generally.

I also think this new generation ... there is a big focus on lifestyle. Our new graduates want to work hard, they want to be rewarded for their work, they want to do good work. But I don't think they want to necessarily be part of a culture that is not community-based. I see that a lot of students value in-house roles because they find community there.

Our students grow quickly in in-house roles. They're invested. You join a good company that has a growth mindset, they invest in younger employees. Young lawyers are treated as professionals who can do a broad array of things. While they perform legal functions, they also have the opportunity to get into the business side. I think our students see that. It's not about doing 80 hours a week and making partners so much anymore.